Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Back To Work - June 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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1 6 • O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J U N E 2 0 2 0 E ffectively screening patients for COVID-19 is part of pre- op protocols as outpatient facilities across the country slowly begin performing elective procedures again. However, the available infor- mation about this virus and its symp- toms changes so frequently that it's tough to stay on top of what you should be checking patients for before they enter your facility. That's why we developed an easy-to-update COVID-19 screening tool that doesn't need to be overhauled whenever our screening protocols change. The tool, created in a Word document, includes the most current and critical information about the coron- avirus from the CDC, WHO and our state's department of health (out- patientsurgery.net/forms). It also includes straightforward questions that leave no room for interpretation. For instance, we ask all patients, "Have you, or anyone else who has lived in your house with- in the past 2 weeks, been exposed to someone diagnosed with COVID-19 or have you had any of the following symptoms …" We then ask about 11 different symptoms associated with the virus such as fever of 100.4 degrees or higher, sore throat and new loss of taste or smell. The greatest benefit of this tool is its ease of use. When the CDC recently added new symptoms, it was easy for us to type them into the document. Even though not all COVID-19 positive patients PRE-OP PRECAUTION A Handy Coronavirus Screening Tool TEMPERATURE CHECK Front desk representative Jessica takes a patient's temperature in accordance with Red Lion Surgicenter's new COVID-19 screening tool. Red Lion Surgicenter Ideas Work That

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