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They focused on nailing the time out every single time, and ended up implementing spotchecks to ensure ongoing compliance with demonstrated best practices.
6TH VITAL SIGN Inadequate post-operative pain
control has adverse physiologic effects, and will
soon have an adverse effect on your bottom line.
G. Stanfield, CRNA, PhD, a pain management specialist at the Skiff Medical Center
in Newton, Iowa, has 3 words for you:
Focusing on continuous quality improvement is the most important factor in prevent-
proactive, preemptive and multifactorial.
ing avoidable mishaps. Chances are, there's some aspect of your policies and procedures
• Proactive. Rather than react to a bad
that can be improved upon. Never think, "Oh, we're not going to have a wrong-site surgery." Once you fall into complacency, you've set yourself up to make mistakes. OSM
situation and attempt to rescue a patient
who's writhing in pain in PACU, develop
Ms. Ruiz (k elli.ruiz@scasurg ery.com) is a regional manager for Surgical Care Affiliates, a
surgery center management firm based in Hoover, Ala.
and implement a pain management plan
before taking care of the patient, says Dr.
Stanfield. There's also a psychological
component to pain management: "Prepare
the patient for the amount of discomfort
associated with the procedure he's undergoing. The patient needs to know what to
expect. His psychological state contributes
greatly to his experience of pain."
How Well Do
You Manage
Post-Op Pain?
Letting pain get the upper
hand is a sure way to sink your
patient satisfaction scores.
Dan O'Connor | Editor-in-Chief
• Preemptive. "Letting a patient experience pain is far less efficacious than preventing pain," says Dr. Stanfield. "Being
rescued from pain is far less impressive
than not having it in the first place. It's a
much lower quality patient experience."
• Multifactorial. There are many discreet
causes of pain, no 2 of which admit of the
same treatment — meaning that 1 inter-
L
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ooking to better manage post-oper-
vention won't treat them all. Dr. Stanfield's
ative pain and boost your facility's
advice: Take advantage of today's many
patient satisfaction scores? Louis
drugs and pain management techniques.
J A N U A R Y 2013 | S U P P L E M E N T
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