Restoring trust
Imagine what a can-
celled case feels like
from the patient's
perspective. A
patient has seen a
surgeon several
times over numerous
months to diagnose a
health issue and
eventually decides surgery is the best treatment option. The patient
built a relationship with the surgeon, trusting her opinion and in her
ability to perform a successful surgery.
The patient reads about your facility, checks online reviews and
speaks to people who've had surgeries in your ORs. She expects your
staff to provide excellent surgical care.
Now the patient is speaking to the physician's office about the par-
ticulars of the procedure. Her loved ones need to make accommoda-
tions at home. She must make difficult financial decisions in order to
cover her significant co-pay. She needs to know how long to take off
from work, and must arrange for at-home help during her recovery.
The week before surgery, the surgeon's office sends the patient a
stack of paperwork, and she fills out every last form. One of your
nurses calls the day before surgery to provide needed information
about the big day. The patient is fully onboard and feels like she's
doing everything right to prepare for the procedure. She's fully
entrusting her care to her surgeon and your surgery center. She's
ready to face one the most important and scariest days of her life,
and arrives at your facility calm and confident.
And the case is cancelled. Just like that.
3 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 • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
The CRNA phone call
provides an effective
layer of fact-checking to
avoid disqualifying
surprises the next day.
