Limit Opioids — or Avoid Them Altogether
Painkillers are often not the answer to post-surgical pain.
T
hose of us in sur-
gery must do our
bit to fight the opi-
oid crisis that's killing
thousands of Americans
every year. Our job is
simple: Administer fewer
opioids during surgery
and discharge patients
with a prescription for as
low a dose as possible for
the shortest time possi-
ble. Or with no prescrip-
tion at all.
We in the surgical com-
munity must also recog-
nize that we have unin-
tentionally contributed
to the opioid epidemic
by routinely overpre-
scribing. Most people
who abuse narcotics got
their first pills as legitimate prescriptions — oftentimes from their
surgeons. But there are virtually no guidelines in place to help sur-
geons choose an appropriate amount for a given procedure or
2 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J a n u a r y 2 0 1 7
Anesthesia Alert
James D. Grant, MD, MBa, FaSa
• OVERPRESCRIBING This patient was likely discharged
with a prescription for 30 or more opioid painkillers when
as few as 5 would have sufficed.
The american Society of anesthesiologists national Pain Strategy
asahq.org/whensecondscount
