When you look at the positive outcomes of protocols that support Enhanced Recovery After Surgery, including early mobilization, the approach can be a win-win for patients undergoing Total Joint procedures.
ERAS is a program that minimizes the impact of surgery on a patient’s body through coordinated efforts involving every member of the perioperative team and affecting each phase of perioperative care. It takes strategic preoperative education to optimize patient health, minimizing opioids and encouraging early postoperative mobility.
Other benefits of ERAS protocols, such as decreased length of stay and better pain control for the patient also make sense in the outpatient setting where patients are normally out the door within hours of their procedure.
These are some of the reasons why Surgical Care Affiliates (SCA) has implemented ERAS protocols for Total Joint procedures in 30+ ASCs across the country.
Today Lisa Berus, MSN, MEd, RN, CASSPT, CNAMB, CAIP®, senior director of Clinical Education & Training for SCA will share what it takes to launch an ERAS program within the ASC setting. She gave Expo Daily News a few tips she will share in her session.
Tip #1: Collaborate
Modifying ERAS protocols for the ASC took a dedicated multidisciplinary team with physicians, nurses, and administrators to review the literature and practice guidelines already established for inpatient ERAS protocols for Total Joint procedures to develop the necessary evidence-based interventions that would work in outpatient care, Berus explains.
One important change they had to make was developing more in-depth preoperative education that started earlier than calling the patient the night before the procedure.
Tip #2: Communicate
Standardized communication with every member of the team has been vital to be transparent and to involve staff in the practice changes that ERAS requires, Berus says. “If one member of the team does not follow the protocol, this can derail the whole approach.”
All total joint procedures follow the ERAS protocols, and leaders communicate to staff when a patient is scheduled to ensure ERAS protocols are followed for these patients.
Tip #3: Educate
Berus stresses the value of education with the whole team to give them the “why” of standardizing the protocols, assessing trends and outcomes, and celebrating successes.
One important outcome they have been able to celebrate is decreased length of stay, she shares. “At one of our ASCs they have never had a patient stay overnight. In another very busy center, only five patients have stayed overnight out of 1,000 total joint procedures, and those five patients left early the next morning.”
Join Berus for today’s session from 9:30-10:30 AM so you can learn how to implement evidence-based practices using ERAS protocols in your own ASC setting.
Following Expo from home? Berus suggests checking out ERASsociety.org to learn more about ERAS and find free guidelines for Total Joint and other procedure protocols.
