/_media/adv/web/images/2011/20110321_NDSSI_TB-378x82.gif

Subscriptions

Advertising

Resources

About Us

Contact Us

Create An Account Forgot Your Password?
Trouble logging in or creating an account? click here
Home This Month E-Weekly Newsletter Building a Facility Article Archive Second Opinions
Search:
Benchmarking
General Surgery
Accrediting/Quality
Anesthesia
Code/Bill/Reimburse
Building/Renovating
/_media/adv/web/images/2012/20120322_Soma_LB-154x100.gif
/_media/adv/web/images/2012/20120430_ISI_LB-154x100.jpg
/_media/adv/web/images/2012/20120426_PDI_LB-154x100.gif
/_media/adv/web/images/2012/20120126_APIC_LB-154x100.jpg
Outpatient Surgery E-Weekly

Malpractice Verdicts Often Favor Physicians

Physicians come out on the winning end of 80% of malpractice claims that end in jury verdicts, according to researchers at Massachusetts General Hos...

Study: CT Colongraphy Effective in Finding Polyps

A CT-scan-based, laxative-free "virtual colonoscopy" may be as effective as standard colonoscopy in finding potentially cancerous polyps, according ...

Wrong-Site Prevention Video Shows the Right Way

Wrong-site, wrong-patient and wrong-procedure surgery must be prevented at all costs. The 3 steps of the Joint Commission's Universal Protocol make ...

Archive > May, 2011 Vol. XII, No. 5

How We Succeeded With Continuous Nerve Blocks

You, too, can improve patient satisfaction and bring in more cases with this post-op pain control regimen.

Deborah Spain, RN, BSN, CNOR; and Kecia Rardin, RN

Believe it or not, a surgeon first got us thinking about continuous peripheral nerve blocks. That's right, a surgeon. Surgeons are notoriously intolerant when regional anesthesia backs up their schedule. Yet there was orthopedic surgeon Paul Switlyk, MD, the shoulder revision specialist in our area, asking us a couple years ago to look into offering continuous blocks at our center to help alleviate the lasting pain patients were feeling after more complicated shoulder procedures, which sometimes had them returning to our facility to be re-blocked. We did our first continuous nerve block in October 2009 and, yes, the process at first added a considerable amount of time to our room turnovers. A year and a half and more than 70 blocks later, we couldn't be happier with the results, from both a patient satisfaction and a profitability standpoint. Here's how we made it work.

Sign in to continue reading.
Email Address:
Password:
Categories: Not yet reviewed
Keywords:
Anesthesia Procedure Superbill; BSN, CNOR Continuous; Blocks; Blocks? Continuous; CNOR Continuous; CPT; Cents”; Continuous; Continuous Blocks? Continuous; Deborah Spain, RN, BSN, CNOR Continuous; Dollars; Dr. Switlyk's; Educate; Expect; Here's; Latarjet; Limit; Nerve Blocks; Note”; October; Offering; Patient; Pay; Procedure Note”; Procedure Superbill; RN, BSN, CNOR Continuous; Spain, RN, BSN, CNOR Continuous; Superbill; Surgeons; Switlyk's; That's; Ultra-sound; Ultrasound; abdominal; ability; accuracy; accurately; added; adding; addition; additional; administering; administration; ago; a... show all keywords
Anesthesia Procedure Superbill; BSN, CNOR Continuous; Blocks; Blocks? Continuous; CNOR Continuous; CPT; Cents”; Continuous; Continuous Blocks? Continuous; Deborah Spain, RN, BSN, CNOR Continuous; Dollars; Dr. Switlyk's; Educate; Expect; Here's; Latarjet; Limit; Nerve Blocks; Note”; October; Offering; Patient; Pay; Procedure Note”; Procedure Superbill; RN, BSN, CNOR Continuous; Spain, RN, BSN, CNOR Continuous; Superbill; Surgeons; Switlyk's; That's; Ultra-sound; Ultrasound; abdominal; ability; accuracy; accurately; added; adding; addition; additional; administering; administration; ago; alleviate; alluded; amount; anesthesia; approach; areas; aren't; asked; aspect; asset; attention; avoid; backs; bad; begin; beginning; benefits; biggest; block; blocking; blocks; bring; brought; buy-in; call; can't; case; catheter; center; centers; check; checkboxes; comfort; comments; companies; complaints; complicated; complications; conduct; conservative; considerable; considered; continuous; control; copy; correctly; couldn't; counsel; couple; create; cuff; curve; cutting; days; decision; delay; detailed; diagnosis; document; documenting; doesn't; don't; duration; easily; easy; eating; education; effective; efficiency; effort; element; embarked; emphasize; encounter; ensure; equipment; expanded; expediting; experiencing; explain; explaining; extra; extremity; facilities; facility; fall; family; feeling; fewer; fill; filling; final; financial; forefront; form; found; fracture; frequently; great; guidance; half; handle; happier; healing; heavy; helping; helps; hips; home; hook; hooked; host; hosted; idea; immediately; implementation; improving; increase; infraclavicular; infused; initial; initially; insert; instructions; interscalene; interventions; intolerant; introducing; involved; keen; key; larger; largest; lasting; lasts; late-night; learning; leave; limits; local; locate; logistical; long; longer; machine; made; make; management; matter; meant; medical; medication; members; middle-of-the-night; minutes; needed; needing; needles; nerve; net; night; notes; notoriously; number; nursing; occasionally; offering; office; one-shot; operate; opioid; option; options; orthopedic; pain; part; patient; patient-friendly; patient's; patients; periods; peripheral; phone; piece; place; placing; plastic; post-op; pre-filled; precious; prefer; preps; prevents; problems; procedure; procedures; process; processes; proficient; profitability; program; programming; progress; protect; provide; provider; pump; pumps; purchasing; raised; rate; re-block; realized; reasoning; recovery; regional; regular; relief; remove; repeat; reps; require; returning; revenue; revision; risk; room; rotator; satisfaction; select; series; set; shaved; shoulder; simple; single-shot; site; slowing; smooth; specialist; spot; staff; start; started; step; stimulation; straight; streamlined; streamlining; strive; success; supplies; supply; surgeon; surgeons; surgeries; surgery; surgical; taking; that's; therapy; there's; they'll; they're; thinking; time; tips; top; training; tremendous; trial; turnover; ultimately; ultrasound; undergo; undergoing; unusual; vendor; verbally; visits; we've; weren't; wheeled; work; works; year; years; you'd; you'll; you're; you've; “Continuous; “Regional

© Copyright Herrin Publishing Partners LP. REPRODUCTION OF THIS COPYRIGHTED CONTENT IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. We encourage LINKING to this content; view our linking policy here.

PRODUCT & SERVICE RESOURCES
Did You See This?
A showcase of products and services geared to make your facility better.

Architects' Showcase
Is a beautiful, efficient new facility in your future?
/_media/adv/web/images/2012/20120508_ORX_AR-300x250.gif
Other Articles That May Interest You
Colonoscopy Detects Cancer on Both Sides
News & Notes
Surgical Robot Purchases Boost Prostate Surgeries