The Surgical clinics of North America
-
Surgical disparities exist. Certain surgical populations suffer from disproportionately worse access, care, and outcomes in surgery. ⋯ As a result, ERAS provides a uniquely pragmatic model for improving outcomes and reducing disparities in vulnerable surgical populations. The value of ERAS may therefore extend beyond its traditional benefits to the even greater pursuit of health equity.
-
Surg. Clin. North Am. · Dec 2018
ReviewEnhanced Recovery After Surgery and Multimodal Strategies for Analgesia.
Enhanced recovery after surgery is an evidence-based, multimodal approach to the perioperative care of a patient undergoing surgery. These pathways seek to attenuate the stress response to surgery facilitating postoperative recovery. ⋯ Traditional analgesic regimens for major surgery rely heavily on opioids to provide analgesia but can cause a wide range of serious side effects, delaying recovery. Enhanced recovery protocols should incorporate multimodal analgesic strategies that minimize opioid use and optimize analgesia.
-
Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathways target specific areas within perioperative patient care in a multidisciplinary and evidence-based manner. Because of the subsequent positive outcomes associated with its use, ERAS has expanded to most surgical subspecialties, including hepatopancreatobiliary surgery. Although certain concepts are universal to all ERAS protocols, there are unique areas of emphasis pertaining to the hepatopancreatobiliary specialties, which will be highlighted throughout this article. In addition, some of the less frequently discussed aspects of enhanced recovery, including patient-reported outcomes, recovery assessment, cost, and auditing, will be addressed.
-
Value in health care is defined as the best outcome that matters to the patient at the lowest cost. Therefore, a valuable intervention is one that either results in better outcomes at the same cost, the same outcomes at lower cost, or in the best-case scenario, better outcomes at lower cost. ⋯ ERPs do not increase overall costs, even when implementation and maintenance costs are considered. More research on patient-reported outcomes and other downstream effects of ERPs is required to fully characterize their true value.
-
Surg. Clin. North Am. · Dec 2018
ReviewOverview of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery: The Evolution and Adoption of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery in North America.
Enhanced Recovery is broadly defined as the application of evidence based perioperative care elements for improved surgical outcomes. Demonstration of decreasing surgical stress with innovation of surgical technique, in combination with pressure to drive down health care costs, have coalesced into a unique version of perioperative medicine in the United States. The US government has failed to show interest; there are no performance metrics, no participation requirements, and certainly no monetary incentives for implementation of best perioperative practices. When considering the term, Enhanced Recovery is, in its broadest sense, an amalgam of industry, innovation, patient-focused care, cost-effective strategies, and collaboration with a goal of best perioperative outcomes.