Less tends to go wrong for the patient during morning surgery, according to an analysis by Duke University Medical Center researchers, who studied the records of 90,159 surgeries to determine when most surgery patients experienced unexpected adverse events related to their anesthesia. Of these, they found 2,693 cases where error or harm occurred. Patients undergoing surgery in the afternoon most often had more trouble with postoperative pain, nausea and vomiting.

There might be several factors in these time-related problems, including afternoon fatigue among health care providers caused by swings in the circadian rhythms that influence normal biological ups and downs over the course of a day, and hospital work schedules.

I was in my oncologist office yesterday and noticed a new poster hanging on the wall advertising an on-line system for managing health care -- for scheduling appointments, confirming appointments, locating test results, paying bills, and more. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Emeryville, California, RelayHealth is the premier provider of secure on-line healthcare communication services that link patients, healthcare professionals, payors, and pharmacies in matters that are medically non-urgent. The website also features news and customer stories and aims to improve the delivery and accessibility of healthcare to patients -- in a seamless manner.

I haven't done much with this service yet -- but I did take a short tour and made a simple search for my physician whose information promptly popped up on my screen. That part was easy. And once I register with a username and password, I will have more access to more information pertaining to me and my healthcare team. And you can too.