Outpatient Surgery Magazine

COVID-19 Crisis - April 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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obvious: We weren't doing a good enough job informing patients and their families when delays happened. Once we identified the problem, our entire team worked together to overhaul our communication practices from the moment patients arrive right up until they walk out the door. Phase 1: Admission You set the tone for the surgical experience the moment the patient shows up at the registration desk for admission. Make sure your receptionist tells them exactly, to the best of her ability, when the nurse will arrive to take them back to the pre-op area. You also want to be upfront about potential setbacks, which is something you often have an idea about at this stage of the process. If a patient checks in, hears everything is right on schedule and then gets hit with a significant delay, they're far more likely to report a negative experience than if you say, "Hi Ms. Smith, just to let you know we're running a little behind, but we're doing everything we can to keep you as close to on schedule as possible." Phase 2: Pre-op We continue our communication with patients in the pre-op area. As soon as patients settle into a bay, they're updated on how long it will likely be before they're brought back to an OR. We also allow a patient's family member or significant other to keep them company. This small comfort has a major impact on patients' anxiety. It also makes it easier to relay information to everyone, including the patient's family member or significant other, associated with the case. Phase 3: Surgery Before overhauling our communication process, we had a situation A P R I L 2 0 2 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 8 9

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