Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) represents a transformative approach in modern surgical care, emphasizing evidence-based, multidisciplinary protocols to optimize patient recovery. Spanning decades, ERAS has grown from a novel concept into a global standard for perioperative care, with benefits that include shorter hospital stays, fewer complications, and reduced healthcare costs.…
Editor's Note Although women are underrepresented in high-compensation medical specialties, new research shows a significant increase in female applicants and matriculants to surgical specialties specifically. Published September 30 in JAMA Network, the study found that the proportion of women entering high-compensation surgical specialties rose from 28.8% to 42.4%. In contrast,…
Editor's Note The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) published a new toolkit geared toward helping to improve complications and enhance patient recovery after surgical procedures, AHRQ News Now June 27 reports. The new toolkit, titled Toolkit for Improving Surgical Care and Recovery, "addresses common surgical complications such as surgical…
Editor's Note In a recent study led by researchers at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH, mobilization after elective surgery was found to be associated with fewer postoperative complications and shorter lengths of stay (LOS), and is an important component of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols. This retrospective observational study…
Editor's Note This study by researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, finds that patients participating in an Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) program were prescribed significantly fewer opioids at discharge, compared to patients before ERAS was instituted. A total of 3,983 patients were included (1,929 pre-ERAS and 2,054 post-ERAS).…
Editor's Note Robert Stiefel, MD, principal at Enhance Healthcare Consulting, invited this session’s attendees to see how OR leaders can align their strategy—be it financial, staffing, or other—with anesthesia providers to maximize perioperative performance. As with all facets of healthcare, especially seen in nursing, anesthesia providers are also facing massive…