1. A multi-dimensional system for assessing, coding, quantifying, displaying, integrating and communicating information relating to patient health and perioperative risk, comprising: means for inputting patient information and providing an output relating to the patient health and perioperative risk, wherein the output includes: a score for the physical condition of the patient; a score for the degree of expected surgical risk and invasiveness; a score for other vital assessments of perioperative complexity; and alphanumeric codes for other factors that may require special preoperative preparation and planning.