ASA Physical Status Classification
Classifies patient physical status prior to anesthesia to stratify perioperative risk and guide anesthetic planning
Also written as: ASA Physical Status, ASA class.
- Highest activation tier
- Recommended
- How it is scored
- Scored in code; a detected disagreeing draft value is flagged for correction
- Scoring type
- classification
- Care settings
- Emergency department, Inpatient
When it activates
Scribeable activates a calculator from the encounter. The ASA Physical Status Classification can activate when the transcript or pasted chart context documents any of these:
- Pre-operative evaluation
- Anesthesia assessment
- Surgical clearance
- ASA classification needed
- Pre-anesthesia consult
Note-type scope: it activates on notes whose subject resolves to perioperative, hospital medicine. A note that resolves to another subject does not carry it even when the clinician's specialty matches; a note with no resolvable subject (a generic consultation) falls back to the specialty match.
Inputs the note needs
4 inputs. Each is resolved from the transcript, the pasted chart context and charted labs; at this calculator’s tier a missing input is never requested, and a missing required input keeps the score out of the draft.
| Input | Type | Unit / options | Guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Severity of systemic disease (none, mild, severe, life-threatening) | history | ||
| Baseline functional capacity | history | ||
| Active comorbid conditions | history | ||
| Presence and degree of organ dysfunction | history |
Scoring
ASA I: Healthy, no disease. ASA II: Mild systemic disease (well-controlled DM, mild obesity, social drinking). ASA III: Severe systemic disease (poorly controlled DM, morbid obesity, active hepatitis, ESRD on dialysis, EF <40%). ASA IV: Severe life-threatening disease (recent MI <3mo, sepsis, DIC, ARDS). ASA V: Moribund, not expected to survive without surgery. ASA VI: Brain-dead organ donor.
Class from disease severity Severity of systemic disease (none, mild, severe, life-threatening) + functional status Baseline functional capacity + comorbidities Active comorbid conditions + organ dysfunction Presence and degree of organ dysfunction (I=healthy, II=mild, III=severe, IV=life-threatening, V=moribund, VI=brain-dead)
Interpretation
ASA I: Minimal anesthetic risk. ASA II: Low risk, minor impact. ASA III: Moderate risk, substantive functional limitations. ASA IV: High risk, constant threat to life. ASA V: Not expected to survive 24h with or without surgery. ASA VI: Organ procurement only. Add "E" suffix for emergency procedures (e.g., ASA III-E).
Evidence
Sources carried in Scribeable's citation registry for this calculator; guideline version: ASA 2020.
- American Society of Anesthesiologists. ASA Physical Status Classification System (2020 update)ASA Physical Status 2020 · 2020 · ASA · Consensus · link last verified 2026-03-28
How Scribeable handles it in the note
When an encounter activates the ASA Physical Status Classification (its highest tier is recommended), Scribeable does not ask you for missing inputs. The score is computed in code from whatever inputs resolve from the transcript, the pasted chart context or charted labs; a computed value is written into the draft only when every required input already resolves.
The score is computed in code from the resolved inputs, not recalled by the language model. If the draft states a ASA Physical Status Classification value that disagrees with the computed one, the disagreement is flagged to the second drafting pass, which is instructed to correct the score and its interpretation before you see the note.
Classified as a staging or classification system: activated strictly, because a wrong stage on the wrong patient is a documentation hazard.
See it activate on your own encounter
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