We hope this month’s edition of the practice support newsletter finds you well. In this edition we’re going to provide you with some information about a new product that CRH is now offering, share an interview with an Office Manager and allow you a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card!
We would like to announce that April Hofmann won last month’s gift card. Congratulations April!
We will also be attending our first SGNA conference so if you plan to be in Nashville, please come see us at booth #938.
OBP Anoscopes
We’ve been working with the folks at OBP Medical, the manufacturers of the ANOSPEC self-lighted anoscope, for some time now as their product has made the task of anoscopy that much easier and effective. OBP scopes allow for excellent visibility, contain a built-in LED light, are low cost and are disposable.
If your practice utilizes these anoscopes or are interested in doing so, you can now order them by faxing in an order form, or directly off our website at www.crhorders.com. If you need to get set up for ordering, just let me know.
Handling after hours phone calls
One of the great things about hemorrhoid banding with the CRH O’Regan System is that complications are rarely an issue. In a study of over 20,000 bandings, the complication rate was less than 1%. If you notice that your group is having patient complaints on a more frequent basis, please let us know as our Medical Directors can likely provide some tips and tricks to reduce complications. For those of you that handle after hours phone calls, here is some helpful information to make sure you’re not caught off guard.
If a patient calls complaining of pain, our Medical Directors typically recommend a topical anesthetic (such as 5% lidocaine cream) and topical nitrates if the patient admits to feeling a “pinch” after being banded. If no “pinching” was noted, then topical nitrates typically do the trick. In order to minimize the risk of pain, they will also prescribe topical nitrates to any patients with any evidence of anal spasm or any hint of a fissure (even one which is almost completely healed). Doctor’s Guttenplan and Gorchynsky have both found that a “pre-emptive strike” with topical nitrates in the appropriate patients will go a long ways to ensuring that pain is a very infrequent after hours call.
Small amounts of blood are not uncommon in banded patients, but if a patient complains of significant bleeding, the first thing Dr. Guttenplan recommends is to have them lie down with their feet up, place an ice pack on their bottom and to drink some fluids. The most important thing is that they don’t sit on the toilet and continue to strain. If the bleeding persists and is significant, the patient should be brought in to see a physician. The typical time frame for a significant bleed is 10 – 14 days after banding, and is usually best treated with cautery of the ulcer bed. Urinary hesitancy will be seen every once in a while, but this is typically self-limited, and can be managed expectantly.
In the extremely rare circumstance where a patient complains of fever, chills and difficulty passing urine, have them come in right away or report to an emergency room for evaluation.
For additional Clinical FAQs, please visit our website – https://physicians.crhsystem.com/practice-support/clinical-faqs/
This Month’s Contest – Search for the Swirl!
Our physician centric website has a specific area designed specifically for groups utilizing our technology. https://physicians.crhsystem.com/practice-support/ contains clinical forms, clinical pearls, clinical FAQs, marketing materials, videos, and banding bulletin archives. Search through the different sections and tell us what you page you found our logo (the image below) on to be entered in this month’s contest to win a $100 Amazon gift card.
Thanks for your continued support and please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions!