Editor's Note Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programs have led to reduction in length of stay and improved outcomes. This study finds that investment in an ERAS program also leads to financial savings. Despite positive results from international ERAS programs, the US has been slow to adopt such programs, in…

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Editor's Note The new Josie Robertson Surgery Center, opened by Memorial Sloan Kettering (New York City), is a first-of-its-kind facility that allows cancer patients to go home within a day of significant surgical procedures. The surgery center has 12 ORs and can accommodate 60 surgical procedures per day. Surgeons, anesthesiologists,…

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Editor's Note Patient safety approaches that combine teamwork training and systems interventions are more effective than either approach alone, this study finds. The study involved 4-month safety improvement interventions in 5 UK hospitals using teamwork training (TT); systems redesign and standardization (SOP); Lean quality improvement; SOP plus TT; or Lean…

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Nurses, surgeons, and anesthesia providers all have one main goal for patients undergoing surgery—a smooth recovery that returns patients to their daily lives as quickly as possible. Some healthcare providers have adopted enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols as a strategy for meeting that goal, and preliminary research suggests merits…

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Frequently OR leaders are at the forefront of implementing enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols. They have the skills to facilitate implementation of ERAS and to dispel any misconceptions about it, says Donna Watson, MSN, RN, CNOR, FNP. Watson, director for Medtronic Health Systems Advantage in Boulder, Colorado, is an…

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Editor's Note The Department of Health and Human Services on December 1 reported that the rate of hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) dropped 17% from 2010 to 2014. The decline in HACs resulted in approximately 87,000 fewer in-hospital deaths and a savings in health care costs of approximately $19.8 billion. Among the…

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The anesthesia quality improvement program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville can claim a variety of successes, notably less postoperative hypo- and hyper-glycemia and fewer wound infections. When anesthesia providers noticed they weren’t monitoring blood glucose in patients with diabetes as frequently as their own goals specified, they put…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on November 17 released its annual report on America’s Hospitals: Improving Quality and Safety, which summarizes data on 49 accountability measures reported by more than 3,300 accredited hospitals. For the first time, acute care hospitals were required to meet program criteria in six sets—an increase…

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Editor's Note Since publication of the Appropriate Use Criteria for Coronary Revascularization in 2009, the number of nonacute percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) has declined significantly (89,704 vs 59,375). The proportion of nonacute PCIs classified as inappropriate has also declined (26.2% vs 13.3%), although hospital-level variation persists. These findings indicate that…

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Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) has recognized 52 of 517 participating hospitals for achieving meritorious outcomes for surgical patient care in 2014. Recognized hospitals are deemed “meritorious” for their composite quality scores in eight surgical care outcome areas. Hospitals are required…

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