5 4 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0
O
ne of our facili-
ty's surgeons is
well known for
sending
patients home
after surgery with 3 opioid pills.
That's it. His patients are initially
surprised and wonder if that will
be enough to relieve their pain,
but it usually is. The surgeon
makes sure patients have rea-
sonable expectations about how
they'll feel after surgery and
assures them that the 3 pills will
carry them through their recov-
ery. He has a proven pain man-
agement plan, and sticks to it.
Many of our facility's other
surgeons follow his lead, rarely
prescribing more than a 5- to 7-
day supply of painkillers. Their efforts are at the forefront of our facil-
ity's comprehensive approach to opioid-sparing patient care, which is
very similar to the ones contained in the Safe Opioid Use Toolkit for
ASCs distributed to members of the California Ambulatory Surgery
Association (CASA) and ensures the painkillers are used effectively,
appropriately and safely.
Carrie Millsap | Monterey, Calif.
Planning for Proper Pain Management
Efforts to reduce patients' reliance on post-op
opioids should begin before they show up for surgery.
• TEACHABLE MOMENTS Surgeons at Monterey (Calif.) Peninsula
Surgery Center give patients brochures about safe opioid use
before their surgeries and answer any questions they have about
opioid-sparing analgesia.
Monterey
(Calif.)
Peninsula
Surgery
Center
