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 • 3
To Our Readers
Many hold well-intentioned surgeons at least partially responsible for the opioid epidemic. For it was the surgeon, they say, who introduced
many a patient to painkillers — and probably with a prescription excessive enough to cause physical dependence and with enough refills to
lead to full-blown addiction. But not long ago surgeons were taught — and perhaps encouraged — to knock out post-op pain with heavy doses of opioids. That outdated and unsafe
approach to patient care has to change as opioid abuse and addiction continue to plague countless communities across the nation. We created the Manager's Guide to Opioids to pro-
vide you with timely insights from national experts who are leading the push to tailor their pain management strategies into multimodal approaches that rely much less on opioids.
We hope our content will inspire you to do your part to help the nation recover from the epidemic surgery played a part in starting. Cover design by Ethan Anderson
o u t p a t i e n t s u r g e r y . n e t
25
4 On Point
Give Patients What They Need
Jay Horowitz, CRNA
10 A Nation in Crisis
Surgeons helped cause the opioid addiction
problem. Now they can be part of the solution.
Daniel Cook | Executive Editor
17 Multimodal Anesthesia Is a Must
Attacking pain's many pathways is the key
to reducing opioid use.
Daniel Cook | Executive Editor
25 Nerve Blocks Are a No-Brainer
Are your patients missing out on regional
anesthesia's targeted pain relief that reduces
the need for opioids?
Jared Bilski | Senior Associate Editor
33 Standardized Scripts for Every Surgery
Tailoring pill counts to procedure type will
right-size your post-op opioid prescriptions.
Joe Paone | Senior Associate Editor
40 Can You Cut Opioid Use in Half?
Reducing your reliance on painkillers
is a more realistic goal than trying to
eliminate them completely.
Jared Bilski | Senior Associate Editor
47 Who Has Access to Your Medications?
Reduce diversion risks with these
drug security and disposal solutions.
Joe Paone | Senior Associate Editor
54 Planning for Proper Pain Management
Efforts to reduce patients' reliance on
post-op opioids should begin before they
show up for surgery.
Carrie Millsap
58 Turning Personal Tragedy
Into Positive Change
Q&A with Benjamin J. Davies, MD, surgeon
champion of opioid-sparing pain management.
J a n u a r y 2 0 2 0
CONTENTS
OPIOIDS
S P E C I A L E D I T I O N