I-Flow, LLC, a Kimberly-Clark Health Care Company and manufacturer of the ON-Q Pain Relief System (ON-Q), today announced the launch of the “Rethinking Narcotics After Surgery: Post-Op Pain Management with ON-Q” Program to educate patients about alternatives to narcotics for post-operative surgical pain relief. The Program, launched during National Pain Awareness Month, includes a patient website, blog, and social media communities to inform patients and their families about post-operative pain management and help aid the surgery planning and recovery process.
Each year, more than 50 million surgical procedures are performed in the U.S. Approximately 70 percent of patients may experience pain after surgery. Until recently, alternatives for treating post-surgical pain were limited to narcotics, which pose the risk of addiction and may also cause undesirable side effects such as post-operative nausea and vomiting, sedation and immunosuppression. The Rethinking Narcotics After Surgery Program is aimed at educating patients on alternatives available that can help reduce narcotic usage for post-surgical pain control and improve patient outcomes.
“Ineffective post-operative pain management can impair healing and may result in complications, longer hospital stays or readmissions. Many patients are often unaware of the alternatives to narcotics for post-operative pain relief,” said Roger V. Ostrander, M.D., Orthopaedic Surgeon, The Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine. “Making patient-friendly educational resources available will help drive awareness for non-narcotic pain relief options and equip patients with the tools and information they need to take an active role in their pain management.”
The I-Flow Rethinking Narcotics After Surgery Program includes:
•Website– The new myON-Q.comwebsite features information for patients about alternatives to narcotics for post-operative pain relief, FAQs, a physician finder and real-life stories of managing post-op pain from patients and physicians.
• Blog – The ON-Q Blog serves to educate and inform patients about surgery, pain management, treatment options such as the ON-Q Pain Relief System, and to empower patients to seek the best treatment from their doctors. Topics include a pre-surgery checklist, advice on speaking with a physician about post-surgical pain and pre- and post-surgery tips.
•Patient Community – The Rethinking Narcotics After Surgery Program includes several social media communities to foster sharing and support. Surgical patients, friends and family can connect via Facebook, Twitter, Google+and YouTube.
“Today’s informed patient searches for information regarding upcoming surgical procedures on the Internet,” said Chris Barys, General Manager, I-Flow. “Often, pain management is not a part of that search process, even though it is a significant element of recovery. Through the Rethinking Narcotics After Surgery Program we aim to provide quality information and educational resources regarding non-narcotic pain management options to help patients and their families plan for a faster recovery and get back to their lives after surgery sooner.”
I-Flow manufactures the non-narcotic ON-Q Pain Relief System, which consists of a portable pain relief pump that can help manage post-operative pain by delivering an automatic and continuous, regulated flow of a non-narcotic, local anesthetic through a specially designed catheter near the surgical site. By reducing the use of narcotics with a pain pump, patients are more likely to experience better pain management with fewer side effects from narcotics and faster recovery times – patients typically go home an average of 1.1 days sooner – than when treated with narcotics alone.
