Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Special Edition: Opioids - January 2020 - Subscribe to Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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based on specific pro- cedures. Michael Englesbe, MD, FACS, a professor of surgery at the University of Michigan and co-director of OPEN, says more sur- geons are being care- ful about their use of opioids and beginning to realize that post-op pain can be success- fully managed with a fraction of the pills they're accustomed to pre- scribing. The efforts of Dr. Englesbe and his colleagues at OPEN has helped to reduce the average number of pills prescribed by Michigan surgeons from 35 to between 8 and 10. Dr. Englesbe sees that trend spreading across the country, thanks in part to enhanced recovery protocols and bundled payment models that require a multidisciplinary and more active approach to patient care. He believes interacting with patients earlier and often will improve their understanding and acceptance of opioid-sparing tech- niques. "Opioids are still an important part of post-op pain management, but we must minimize their risks by treating pain with the fewest amount possible," says Dr. Englesbe. Making that happen will require persistence. Dr. Manning talks with surgeons around the country during speaking engagements about solving the opioid epidemic and has heard more than once that the opioid crisis is much ado about nothing. "Really?" he says. "Some sur- J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 3 • HEALTHCARE PARTNERS Patients are feeling empowered to request non-opioid analgesics to manage their pain.

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