important information contained within the
instructions.
"Even though we provided the patients
with needed information, they weren't
absorbing it or using it properly," says Dr. Simone.
Electronic and web-based platforms send information to patients'
cell phones or email accounts, where it's much more accessible and
presented in a user-friendly format. For example, says Dr. Simone,
patients can be reminded to schedule a pre-op assessment with anes-
thesia at 21 days pre-op, instructed to stop taking herbal supplements
and blood thinners a week before surgery, asked to confirm the time of
surgery 3 days out and told to go NPO the day before their scheduled
procedure.
The patients are contacted on their mobile devices, but can also
access the information on desktops through a web-based portal. "It's a
pretty simple intervention, but it reduced our no-show rate and inci-
dences of patients who showed up for surgery on blood thinners, who
forgot to go NPO and did not have an escort present to drive them
home."
The platform also serves as a daily log during the post-discharge
period by asking patients a series of questions about their recovery,
such as: Do you have a fever? Are you experiencing pain? Are you
using medications properly? It gives patients a green light if their
answers to questions indicate they're progressing as they should, a
yellow light if their responses raise a red flag such as a low-grade
fever or a red light if they give a combination of answers (chest pain,
fever and breathing difficulties, for example) that necessitate an
immediate trip to the emergency room.
Importantly, says Dr. Simone, patients feel connected to their
providers in the weeks after surgery when they're at their most vulner-
1 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 • A P R I L 2 0 1 8
Remember to
bathe with CHG
