Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Is Your Turnover Team Fast Enough? - August 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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1 1 7 A U G U S T 2 0 1 4 | 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 ANESTHESIA ALERT pull meds for cases, expediting workflow. Its electronic recordkeeping can accurately track your inventory, making it easy to know when to restock and re-order or even, through observing usage trends during particular schedules of cases, the amount and type of medications to preload in preparation. In the event of a supply discrepancy, it's easy to find out the staff member who accessed the system before the errant count. The close watch such systems keep over distribution and their automatic recon- ciliation can help keep your facility compliant with controlled sub- stance regulations. Another plus: The technology can even sniff out drug diversion. Reviewing the record, you'll be able to ask why Dr. Smith needed 8mg of Dilaudid and 100mcg of fentanyl for Mrs. Jones's D&C, and why nothing was returned and nothing disposed as waste afterward. Carts play a part Ideally, every surgical facility would be equipped with an automated system, but realistically their purchase and maintenance might exceed your center's budget, not to mention your available space. This does- n't mean, however, that you're limited to the locked storage closet of old. Anesthesia carts have been making strides as a mobile alternative to centralized dispensing technology, and are a practical solution if automated systems are out of your range. What was once essentially 3 to 5 drawers on wheels, not so different from the Craftsman tool chest in your garage, only with lockable stor- age, have become easily accessible and secure medication storerooms stationed in each OR. They reduce the need to hurry to the drug clos- et to prepare for each case, and because we can lock them and keep the keys, we own them from the time we walk into the room until the time we leave.

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