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P A I N
M A N A G E M E N T
OPIOID-FREE?
Can We Eliminate Them Entirely?
here isn't a single choice for treating pain that doesn't have
its attendant problems," says anesthesiologist Jane Ballantyne,
MD, a world-recognized pain expert who has been sounding
the alarm about opioids for many years. "Nothing's completely perfect.
Patients need to be told what the choices are and what the pros and cons
are. You can usually do that with a pretty simple booklet. For instance, most
people wouldn't choose to be completely snowed with opiates if they were
told they could get home sooner and would be pain-free with a regional
anesthetic.
"But there are risks, like nerve damage. Some people don't want to take
those risks. Some people don't want needles stuck in them. They have a real
thing about needles."
With all the available options, could surgical facilities eliminate opioids
entirely, at least until patients are discharged?
"You certainly could," she says. "If you made it a policy of your surgery
center, I think you'd find people would go home quicker, and if you talk about
cost analysis, it would promote a huge savings. You're not paying overtime,
you could get more procedures done.
People prefer it. It's popular. The
care is easier with patients who
are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
"But I don't think you could have
a hard-and-fast rule about not going
home with an opiate prescription. I
think we're a long way from being
able to do that."
— Jim Burger
"T
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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 | N O V E M B E R 2013
