Does texting work? In a study of 170 patients undergoing thoracic
surgery at Toronto East General Hospital, 98% of patients reported
satisfaction with text messaging, and researchers found those receiv-
ing texts were at a reduced risk of procedure delays and cancella-
tions. Plus, consider the time your staff will save without having to
make phone calls, leave voicemails and send emails.
3. Take a detailed medical history
Don't you just love it when patients show up on the day of surgery all
set to go, but they forgot to get a needed medical test or follow up on
a health condition? To avoid such same-day cancellations, it's critical
to get a detailed and complete health history well ahead of the proce-
dure so you can identify any red flags or potential medical risks dur-
ing their operation, says Susan Struck, RN, health history nurse at
Casper (Wyo.) Surgical Center.
Give patients the option to mail in a filled-out form, to use an online
health history portal or to give their medical history to a nurse over
the phone. As a health history nurse at her ASC, Ms. Struck reaches
out to patients 1-2 weeks before their surgery to go over their medical
history.
The health history call should be separate from the pre-op call, she
notes, because it needs to be done well before surgery in order to
gauge and try to fix any health risks or medication complications a
patient might have. It's intended primarily to identify red flags that
could cause complications when your patient is put under anesthesia.
During the health history call, the nurse should ask about any
prior medical conditions involving the patient's heart and lungs,
infections, diabetes, cancer, neurological history and what medica-
tions they're taking, says Ms. Struck. Be sure to ask about body
mass index — a BMI over 60 is a red flag — and about sleep apnea.
9 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 • J A n U A R Y 2 0 1 8
