IT supports Enhanced Recovery after Surgery Program for Bariatric Surgical Department

Dr. Gregory A. Maynard, M.D., Chief Quality Officer Program Sponsor, and Dr. Mohamed R. Ali, M.D., Chief of Bariatric Surgery and Program Co-Sponsor, launched the ERAS program to adopt best practices, standardize care protocols, and improve post-surgery outcomes. The program uses Epic functionality for multiple service lines to better support patient care before, during, and after surgery.

On October 18, 2021, the Bariatric Surgical Department led the program adoption for its physicians, NPs, MAs, inpatient D12 unit, and float nurses, dieticians, psychologists, and MOSCs. Key changes include:

• MOSCs monitor MyChart activation queues to ensure patients receive communication before and after surgery
• Patients receive MyChart questionnaires to complete before the first visit
• Express Lane and Procedure Pass streamline surgery screening and requirements
• Clinical Pathways help staff with timely order delivery after surgery and through discharge
• Physician, nurse, and dietician flowsheets are available for discrete documentation, care monitoring, and data abstraction
• ERAS bariatric patient flags alert Bed Planners for prioritization
• New reports and patient notifications help enforce follow-up visits
• Dashboards allow real-time monitoring of clinical outcomes and process intervention

Dr. Maynard, regarding the project, says, “our Bariatric program has a long track record of providing standardized care for their patients across the spectrum of care. Dr. Ali and team are the perfect group to trailblaze the ‘hard-wiring’ of the workflows and protocols through the best available Epic tools. Which in turn help direct care and facilitate the assessment of adherence to key steps in the process. The template to optimize workflows in Epic and reinforce ERAS is now modified in an accelerated fashion for many of our surgical services.”

The ERAS Steering Committee will determine the overall program metrics to adopt across all service lines. At the same time, the Bariatric Surgical Department and IT continue to collaborate on workflow adoption and refinement. “IT was essential in achieving the goals of this project. They provided us with robust technology that improved timing of delivering information, speed, and facility for access. Without IT support these enhanced recovery protocols could not operate properly,” said Barbara Jachniewicz, Doctor of Nursing Practice, Department of Surgery.