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G A S T R O E N T E R O L O G Y
prep compliance, double-check that necessary lab testing is complete,
review current medications (such as anticoagulants and anti-diabetic
agents), discuss the need for antibiotics and record the patient's sedation history. Be sure to confirm that patients will have drivers to take
them home when discharged.
4. Kick-start your day. Here's a scheduling pearl courtesy of
Berry Sowell, CEO and administrator of the Dothan (Ala.) Surgery
Center, to get each day off to a brisk start. Let your first GI patient on the
schedule bypass pre-op and take her directly to the procedure room,
where a nurse can perform paperwork and start the IV. "This frees up
pre-op space out of the gate and lets pre-op staff prep other patients,"
says Mr. Sowell. To keep cases moving, place scopes outside each procedure room for the first
4 to 5 cases. To minimize discharge times,
give patients water,
not snacks or juice.
5. About those
tardy patients.
Have late-arriving
patients come in 45
minutes before their
procedure time. This
way, if one is late, you
can just take the next
patient. To deal with
no-shows, doublebook a procedure
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O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | S E P T E M B E R 2013
