Picture two starkly different scenarios... In Hospital A, the regional anesthesia team mandates and directs the perioperative analgesic plan. When the acute pain attending for the day and the resident identify a patient on the OR schedule who may benefit from a regional anesthetic block, it is up to them to obtain consent and to coordinate patient care. Preoperative blocks are performed either in the admission room, or preoperative holding area, or sometimes in the OR. Postoperative blocks are done as soon as the patient arrives in the postanesthesia care unit. Determination of block type, single shot versus catheter, and duration of treatment are left to the acute pain team, with little feedback from the surgeons.
In Hospital B, the regional anesthesia team functions as an ancillary service, often at the request of the surgeons, their residents, and nurse practitioners or physician assistants. Blocks may also be identified by the...
