J U L Y 2 0 1 8 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 5 3
I
f it's always rush hour in your recovery room, stretchers
stacked and packed in every bay, the backup sometimes so
bad that you have to hold post-op patients in the OR until a
spot opens up, then you suffer from delayed PACU discharge.
I've seen patients stuck in PACU gridlock for 2 hours or more (I'd
hate to see those satisfaction surveys!). And I've seen surgeons breeze
through their first few cases of the day, only to see their operating
room become a makeshift recovery room when the PACU is full. "OR
holds" delay the start of every case thereafter and frustrate not only
• TRAFFIC JAM A crowded, congested recovery room will delay patient discharge.
On the Fast Track
6 keys to shorter stays in the recovery room.
Andi N. Rice, DNP, CRNA | Greenville, S.C.
