26
March
2019
|
17:14 PM
America/New_York

Clinician-healthcare administrator partnerships: Effective treatment for opioid epidemic

Seth A. Waldman, MD, anesthesiologist at HSS, Roberta Stack, MS, AVP of Anesthesiology, Critical Care & Pain Management at HSS, and Lisa Goldstein, COO at HSS, detail how the hospital successfully implemented a pain management program incorporating clinicians across the care continuum, and how it overcame challenges to ensure this goal became a cornerstone of the hospital’s culture. At HSS, the goals are to prescribe opioids responsibly and promote conservative use. HSS optimizes each patient’s surgical experience and tailors treatment plans to individual complex pain needs. It also provides education and supporting resources to prescribers, patients and the community via multiple channels.

HSS appointed a medical advisor for opioid prescribing practices and creating an enterprise-wide, interdisciplinary Controlled Substances Task Force. The Task Force was charged with implementing and monitoring the progress of institutional controlled substances initiatives, which spanned broad categories including: education, safe perioperative prescribing practices and close management of the most at-risk complex patients. Additionally, The Controlled Substances Task Force led the development and provision of educational resources for prescribers, patients and the community.

In partnership with HSS surgeons, the Task Force developed novel service-specific guidelines to standardize opioid prescribing practices, patient monitoring and documentation via electronic health records, which can be accessed across all points of care.

This article previously appeared on HealthcareBusinessTech.com.