2 2 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • A U G U S T 2 0 1 8
W
hat's your
biggest anes-
thesia gripe?
Take your pick of the 3
C's: cancellations (too
many), costs (too much)
or communication (too
little). We don't have the
time or space to address
them all, so let's tackle
the one you're likely los-
ing the most sleep — and
reimbursement — over:
same-day cancellations.
If you're like most facilities, you rely on the surgeon for an office
visit H&P and on one of your nurses to call the patient before surgery
to verify the history, NPO status and which medications to take or
stop. Day of surgery arrives and you've checked all of the boxes. The
H&P labs and testing are on the chart. The surgeon has spoken with
and marked the patient. You are ready, the IV is started and the room is
opened. But things come to a screeching halt when anesthesia cancels
the case after assessing the patient, leaving an unhappy patient, a riled
up surgeon, wasted supplies and an OR crew with nothing to do in his
wake.
Why on earth did anesthesia cancel? Many cancellations are not
anesthesia's fault. Perhaps your ambiguous policies are to blame. Or
your pre-screening system failed to identify red flags.
Cancellations Aren't Always Anesthesia's Fault
When a case is postponed, there's often plenty of blame to go around.
Anesthesia Alert
Lynette Bear, DNP, CRNA, MNBA
• WHO'S TO BLAME? Just as there are many reasons for same-day cancel-
lations, there's plenty of blame to spread around.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN,
CNOR
