includes the opportunity for them to call you if they have any trouble.
And calls can be frequent. Patients want to know what to do if there's
leakage, what to do if there's a problem with the pump and what to do
if the site where the catheter is attached doesn't look quite right. The
bottom line is that sending patients home with pain pumps is resource-
intensive.
Things are much easier to figure out when the patient is in your
facility and you can troubleshoot. If that's not a possibility, a strong
training program is a must. Simple things like how to tape a catheter
in such a way that it's easy for patients to untape and remove, how to
tunnel them in such a way that the fluid doesn't leak around the skin
insertion, and how to position the pump are all important considera-
tions. Once you have all that figured out, then you can start sending
