Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Almost Left Behind - Subscribe to Outpatient Surgery Magazine - April 2018

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 2 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • A P R I L 2 0 1 8 Ideas Work P r a c t i c a l p e a r l s f r o m y o u r c o l l e a g u e s That Y ou're not alone if you're having a hard time getting fentanyl. An acute nationwide shortage has sent many facilities scram- bling for alternative ways to control surgical pain. Here are some steps you can take to survive the shortage. 1. Ration your fentanyl supply. Use injectable opioids to treat pain, not to sedate patients. One surgery center uses Dilaudid for adults in PACU and reserves fentanyl for pediatric patients. In inhalational cases, some anesthesia providers give morphine at the end of the case for pain control. 2. Load up on different vial sizes. One anesthesia coordinator bought fentanyl 5 mcg and 250 mcg when the 100 mcg was not avail- able. "I know it's more to waste, but it's our only option." 3. Online search strategies. Try searching "ampules" instead of 5 Ways to Survive the Fentanyl Shortage • SHORT SUPPLY Many surgical facilities are deal- ing with an acute shortage of fentanyl. Track Drug Shortages Visit the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ashp.org) to see which drugs are in short supply, time- lines for deliv- ery of the drugs and alternatives you can use in place of the shortage drugs. Pamela Bevelhymer, RN, BSN, CNOR

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