of vegetables is a nice, light
option to drape over their shoul-
der. Include a medication chart
— a list of prescribed medica-
tions and when they should be
taken — for patients to refer to if
they're given a five-day course of
opioids for breakthrough pain.
Patients should be encouraged to
wait until evenings to take opi-
oids in order to maximize their
analgesic benefits for sleeping.
After the five-day opioid prescrip-
tion, non-narcotic medications
are usually effective in managing
post-op pain.
Demand is increasing
More patients are inquiring about
having their procedures done in
outpatient facilities because of
fears of contracting COVID-19,
but these surgeries were heading
out of main hospital ORs before
the pandemic hit. Patients who
had a shoulder replacement done
10 or more years ago could be in
the hospital for three days. Post-
op stays were eventually reduced
to one night. Now we realize
patients are at less of a risk for
blood clots, infection and other
complications if they're able to
recover at home. Knee and hip
replacements led the charge into
the outpatient arena, but shoul-
ders are following suit and gain-
ing momentum. Follow these
steps and you can make them the
fastest growing component of
your orthopedic service line.
OSM
J
A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 • O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y . N E T • 2 7
Dr. Horneff
(john.horneff@pennmedi-
cine.upenn.edu) is an
assistant professor of clinical
orthopedic surgery in the
shoulder and elbow division at the
University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
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