Patient management
Your best safeguard is an extensive medication reconciliation that
accounts for a patient's detailed marijuana usage — how often, what
dosage, to treat which conditions? While there is far less of a stigma
surrounding medical marijuana usage, some patients are less than
honest about their own recreational use of the substance. As best you
can, get an accurate medication reconciliation and be sure to highlight
any marijuana usage for anesthesia providers, which can help them
navigate through prudent and safe administration of intra- and post-
procedure drugs.
Finally, stress to your pot-smoking patients that the sooner they can
quit smoking before surgery, the better. With each passing smoke-free
day, their overall risk of complications decreases. Quitting even 12
hours prior to surgery can make a difference, but quitting 8 weeks
before surgery can have a dramatic impact on their surgery and recov-
ery, particularly improving their response to anesthesia.
OSM
Mr. Sones (shelsones@aol.com) is a pharmacy consultant at more than 130
ambulatory facilities in the Northeast, and a member of Outpatient Surgery
Magazine's Editorial Board.
Safety
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