Abstract
Comprehensive and integrated care of surgical patients involves many functional departments and specialized teams, including surgeons, anesthesiologists, and other anesthesia providers (certified registered nurse anesthetists [CRNAs], anesthesiologist assistants, and anesthesia residents), operating room (OR) nurses, and nurses in the surgical intensive care units (ICUs), regular wards, and postanesthesia care units (PACUs). Postanesthesia care units play an important role in the care of surgical patients; they affect not only the patient’s continuing emergence from general anesthesia and the recovery of cognitive, sensory, and motor functions following anesthesia, but also the turnover rate of ORs and ambulatory surgery clinics or outpatient surgery, the patient’s length of hospital stay, gate-keeping the discharge of ambulatory patients, and the overall efficiency of surgical services of a medical facility. Postanesthesia care units may ultimately affect the profitability of a hospital and overall patient satisfaction in a medical facility.
Original language | English (US) |
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Title of host publication | Operating Room Leadership and Management |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 186-193 |
Number of pages | 8 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781139084277 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781107017535 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 2009 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine