J U LY 2 0 1 6 O U T P A T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T 4 1
placement safety, providers
say that its increased use has
made it easier to place CNBs
in recent years. The latest
ultrasound technology has a
lot to do with that, says Scott
Rigdon, CRNA, of
Transcendent Anesthesia and
Pain Services in Bozeman,
Mont. Not only are today's
machines capable of produc-
ing sharper images, they're
also easier to use, smaller
and more affordable. "A few
years ago, it was fairly chal-
lenging for providers to see what they were doing, to see the tip of the needle
and the thread of the catheter within the space near the nerve," he says.
"Now, with improved ultrasound, it's just all-around much easier."
Anesthesiologist Adam W. Amundson, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester,
Minn., notes that the latest machines are geared toward smaller outpatient
facilities. These point-of-care options often feature touchscreen interfaces,
smaller footprints and more mobility than their predecessors.
These features, though, don't necessarily mean a higher price tag, says anesthe-
siologist Gregory N. Dunn, MD, medical director of the Advanced Family Surgery
Center in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Because of that, more facilities can find room in their
budgets to purchase a quality ultrasound machine that could shave precious min-
utes off of a block's placement time. "You can get a pretty decent new unit for
around $25,000," says Dr. Dunn. "When I went through training back in 2007, you
had to invest in a $90,000 unit to get good image quality. But now, these cheaper
• USER FRIENDLY The style of pain pump you use isn't as important as ensuring
patients understand how to use it.
Jillanea
Winchester,
BSN
