Preventing Post-surgery Risk in Sleep Apnea Patients

AUDIOCONFERENCE ON TAPE OR CD

Sponsored by Quality Improvement Report

presented on June 18, 2007

The silent killer

Obstructive sleep apnea is growing as the American population ages and becomes more obese. However, this condition is undiagnosed in 80-90% of all affected patients. And when these patients present for surgery at your facility, they are at particular risk for respiratory arrest and other post-operative complications.

Because many sleep apnea sufferers are unaware of their condition, it is crucial that you and your staff learn to effectively identify this condition, and properly monitor affected patients after surgery. This is also especially critical as The Joint Commission proposes sleep apnea as a new patient safety goal in the future.

Prevent deaths from sleep apnea

For information, advice, and techniques on how to manage post-surgery risks in sleep apnea patients, listen to this 90-minute audioconference on June 18. Purchase today to hear insight from our expert speakers on how to prevent post-operative complications and deaths in sleep apnea sufferers. You will also learn how to safely and effectively manage pain in these patients.

Please note: Participants should have a basic understanding of how patients are currently evaluated pre-operatively, admitted, and cared for post-operatively in their own facilities.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this audioconference, you will be able to:

• Identify and diagnose sleep apnea patients
• Recognize the necessity of continuous monitoring
• Understand pain management and the different alternatives
• Implement best practices and prevention strategies to avoid sentinel events

PROGRAM AGENDA

1. Spotting patients with obstructive sleep apnea
   1. Why The Joint Commission is considering sleep apnea as a patient safety goal
   2. How to assess patients who may have sleep apnea
2. Monitoring patients with sleep apnea
   1. How anesthesia alternatives can help protect patients with sleep apnea
   2. Why routine monitoring may not be the best solution
3. Pain management
   1. Safe alternatives to narcotics to prevent sleep apnea patients from respiratory arrest
4. Prevention
   1. Identifying sleep apnea patients before surgery
   2. Getting surgeons to work with anesthesiologists to lower risk
   3. Which patients should not be operated on in an Ambulatory setting
5. Solutions
   1. ETCo2 monitoring
   2. Steps to implement a program
   3. Success stories
   4. Challenges
6. Q&A session

FEATURED SPEAKERS

Shelly Collins, Pharm.D, Coordinator of Clinical Pharmacy Services, Chesapeake General Hospital. In her current role, Dr. Collins' practice focus is medication safety, Joint Commission compliance, pharmacy and therapeutics committee functions, formulary management, protocol development and implementation, as well as staff and physician education. She is also the president of Rxpert Review, a consulting firm specializing in medication management and review of medical malpractice cases. Dr. Collins completed a clinical pharmacy residency at Memorial Medical Center of Long Beach, CA. Prior to Chesapeake General, she was the assistant director of clinical services for Mobile Infirmary Medical Center in Mobile, AL. She is active in the Virginia Society of HealthSystem Pharmacists, as well as the American Society of Healthsystem Pharmacists.

Ann Lofsky, MD, Partner, Saint John's Hospital, Santa Monica. Dr. Lofsky graduated from Stanford University and attained her MD degree at USC. She completed both internal medicine and anesthesiology residencies at UCLA before entering private practice in anesthesiology. For 13 years, Dr. Lofsky served on the board of governors of The Doctors Company, a physician-owned and operated medical malpractice insurer. In this capacity, she has reviewed numerous malpractice claims and published and lectured extensively on risk management and patient safety concerns for anesthesiologists. She is currently a governor emeritus and anesthesia consultant for The Doctors Company.

WHO SHOULD LISTEN?

This program is geared toward healthcare professionals concerned with preventing the risk of sleep apnea in post-surgical patients. Specific titles include:

• Patient safety officers and professionals
• Accreditation professionals
• Quality, risk, and performance improvement professionals
• Anesthesiologists
• ASC administrators
• Surgeons
• Nursing professionals

PROGRAM MATERIALS

In addition to the expertise and advice presented during this audioconference, you'll also receive a slide presentation of the program materials along with helpful articles from related HCPro publications.

All materials are provided with PDF links.

Purchase a tape or CD of the program and listen when you can. It's also a perfect training tool for new staff or as a refresher for veteran staff.

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