The Permanente Journal–July 17, 2017

Complications are common after surgery, highlighting the need for innovations that reduce postsurgical morbidity and mortality. This report describes the design, development, and implementation of TPMG’s Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) program in KP Northern California’s integrated health care delivery system. This program was implemented and disseminated in 2014, targeting patients who underwent elective colorectal resection and those who underwent emergent hip fracture repair across 20 Medical Centers. The program leveraged multidisciplinary and broad-based leadership, high-quality data and analytic infrastructure, patient-centered education, and regional-local mentorship alignment. This program has already had an impact on more than 17,000 patients in Northern California. It is now in its fourth phase of planning and implementation, expanding Enhanced Recovery pathways to all surgical patients across Kaiser Permanente Northern California.

The Journal article was written by

  • Vincent X Liu, MD, MS
  • Efren Rosas, MD
  • Judith C Hwang, MD, MBA
  • Eric Cain, MD, MBA
  • Anne Foss-Durant, RN, MSN, FNP, MBA
  • Molly Clopp, RN, MS, MBA
  • Mengfei Huang, MSc
  • Alexander Mustille
  • Vivian M Reyes, MD
  • Shirley S Paulson DNP(c), MPA, RN, NEA-BC
  • Michelle Caughey, MD
  • Stephen Parodi, MD

Read the full story in The Permanente Journal’s Summer 2017 issue