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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2 8 • 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 • O C T O B E R 2 0 2 0 Ochsner Medical Complex – The Grove, a state- of-the-art clinic and surgery center that opened last year in Baton Rouge, La., has a wide range of fea- tures that improve the patient experience from the minute they walk in the door. "The O Bar at the front entrance is where patients get help with installing apps on their phones," says Louis Jeansonne, MD, chief medical information officer for the facility. "There are thousands of medical apps, so we have a team that curates the ones that we recommend." Patients can test drive more than 100 apps that focus on wellness, nutrition, fitness, diabetes man- agement and smoking cessation. The interactive community resource engages patients in technology and tools to improve their health and well-being. Dr. Jeansonne says patient communication apps come in handy, especially during the pandemic. Mobile check-ins at the center have become more popular than ever thanks to a quick download of an app, which alerts the staff that patients have arrived and automatically checks them in. "If the patient does not have the app on their phone, however, a phone number is posted at every parking spot that they can call and check in from their car in the parking lot," says Dr. Jeansonne. Managing pain and PONV Patients who feel nauseous or experience excruci- ating pain after surgery likely won't think back fondly to their surgical experience, no matter how well the surgery went. Anesthesia providers at Stamford Hospital place transverse abdominis plane (TAP) blocks to help manage the post-op pain of abdominal surgery patients without relying on high doses of opioids. Patients wake up from surgery without feeling dizzy and can ambulate sooner and easier, which increas- es blood flow and helps the bowel and digestive systems return to function sooner. "Patients there- fore eat nearly immediately after surgery, which helps to improve the pace of their recoveries and allows them to be discharged sooner and in less pain — factors that improve their overall satisfac- tion with surgery," says Ms. Erive. Boston Out-Patient Surgical Suites utilizes regional blocks on all shoulder procedures and all larger knee procedures, such as osteotomies and arthroplasties. "Our anesthesiologists perform adductor canal blocks and selective tibial nerve blocks," says Mr. DeConciliis. "They choose the best regional block for the procedure." By utilizing regional blocks routinely, Mr. DeConciliis says the center's anesthesiologists cut down drastically on the use of intraoperative opioids. "This causes less PONV, and ensures patients have minimal pain post-operatively and therefore need fewer oral narcotics," he says. "Our surgeons will also typically inject local anes- thesia directly into the tissue surrounding the sur- gical site to help control pain and improve the overall post-op experience." Boston Out-Patient Surgical Suites has loos- ened some of its NPO restrictions, which now allow for some early morning light food and drink before cases scheduled later in the day. Patients are also asked to arrive earlier for their surgeries PRIME POSITION Eye 35 ASC leaves its patients at about a 30-degree angle before sur- gery to help keep them calm and comfortable. Eye 35 ASC