Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Say Yes to Total Hips - March 2014 - 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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Corrie Massey SAFETY 3 0 O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | M A R C H 2 0 1 4 5 Tips for Treating Addicted Patients A dignified way to treat their addiction and their surgical recovery. I t is the shorthand that makes us shiver: ETOH. IVDA. Seeing these acronyms in a patient's chart — ETOH, short for ethanol , indicates chronic alcoholism; IVDA stands for intravenous drug abuse — gives us pause. Patients with a history of addiction have special requirements for surgical care. We must consider their current physical health, medication reactions, recovery room behavior and social issues. Several of our surgeons are affiliated with rehabilitation facilities and specialists here in the Los Angeles area, so our surgery center sees many addicted patients. Here are some practical tips for working with these patients and your physicians to achieve optimal surgical outcomes and a posi- tive patient experience. "Patients are worried about reigniting their addiction process and adequate pain control due to previous drug use. They deserve adequate pain control and reassurance that opiates are okay after surgery." Create a compassionate culture Our clinical staff includes several members who have per- sonal experience with addiction within their families. Through our personal and professional histories, we've seen mistreatment of these fragile patients by hospital staff in the form of withhold- ing of pain medications, neglect and verbal abuse. Rather than casting judgment and letting personal feelings affect our patient care like so many of our peers had done in the past, we decided 1 OSE_1403_part1_Layout 1 3/5/14 11:29 AM Page 30

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