tomies joining a growing list of complex procedures that no longer have
to be performed in inpatient ORs, anesthesia's role in your surgical
team's ability to perform effective and efficient care has never been
more important.
• Giving the green light. You wouldn't be able to perform complex
surgeries in your ORs without the approval and skill of anesthesiolo-
gists. Their abilities to assess individual patients' comorbid conditions
in the context of scheduled procedures and planned anesthesia tech-
niques are critical to identifying appropriate candidates for same-day
surgery. Providers can turn high-risk candidates into lower-risk
patients by addressing triggers for complications — excess weight, car-
diopulmonary disease and sleep apnea, to name a few — long before
the day of surgery.
Older patients with acute conditions, including obesity and obstruc-
tive sleep apnea, have increased the importance of identifying proper
candidates for same-day surgery. An anesthesiologist's clinical insights
and trusted opinion ensure patient safety is always prioritized over
growing case volumes and increasing surgical revenues.
• Enhanced pain management. Anesthesiolo-gists are trained to
identify patients predisposed to experiencing significant discomfort
after surgery and are taking steps to manage post-op pain with region-
al anesthesia and oral analgesics, and fewer opioids in light of the
national opioid crisis, which has created an urgent need to prescribe
alternative therapies to recovering patients.
To manage significant post-op pain with fewer opioids, providers are
increasingly administering regional anesthesia and instructing patients
to take acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories
(NSAIDs) or cyclooxygenase (COX-2) specific inhibitors — a pairing
that provides post-op pain relief better than the use of either drug
alone — as part of a balanced, round-the-clock analgesia regimen.
6 • 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 U L Y 2 0 1 9
On Point
OP
