Pharmacist help to clean up anesthesia-specific PACU meds

Discontinuing specific order set without bothering you

Sometimes meds intended from the Post Anesthesia Orders for PACU are continued on the post-op floors, usually by accident of med reconciliation. At their last meeting, P&T approved a proposal that would allow pharmacists to discontinue meds from this order set

, if they make it through the phases of care and appear for a patient on the floor.  Some of the PACU-specific orders that have been found on patients on post-op floors include:

• Meperidine
• Ephedrine
• Surgery-specific sliding scale insulin
• Acetaminophen
• Ondansetron
• Haloperidol

Starting 2/1, any orders originating from this order set for a patient outside of the peri-op areas can be discontinued by the pharmacist without bothering you with a page to ask permission. This clean-up will reduce the probability that potentially inappropriate PACU orders are actually given, and reduce our vulnerability to a Joint Commission citation by removing duplicate PRN medication orders.

If you have questions or concerns about this, please let Matt Tanner in Pharmacy know (503-814-9960 or matthew.tanner@salemhealth.org).