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McLaren Bay Region wanted to decrease the number of patients discharged on greater than 10 opioid pills prescribed for opioid naïve EVAR and CEA patients. The team of BMC2 Coordinators - Terri Militello, RN, BSN; Wendy Pioch RN; Tonya Shufelt RN and Sandy Garzell RN, the Quality Director, along with Providers; Pharmacists; Pain Stewardship Committee, and the Bay County Prevention Network put together a multi-pronged approach with the focus on education.
The group of coordinators from BMC2 Vascular Surgery, MSQC, and MARCQI developed and implemented a cohesive and comprehensive opioid education, tracking, and Plan-Do-Check-Act strategy. Education for both the staff and patients was divided into pre-hospitalization, hospitalization, and discharge.
Provider education targeted the Vascular Surgeons and their offices as well as Cardiovascular Surgeons, Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Hospitalists, and trainees along with their associated mid-level providers.
Surgical Services were updated via a weekly newsletter and the monthly surgical service “First Wednesday” meeting. Community outreach was also implemented that included the Bay County Prevention Network “Non-Opioid Expo”. This featured alternative to opioid pain management options including massage, chiropractic, acupuncture, and physical therapy.
Patients were educated regarding pain expectations and alternative pain management including receiving a “Managing Your Pain After Surgery” handout outlining deep breathing exercises.
As a result of all these efforts, the site met its 70% goal with Q3 2020 performance at 95%.