Creating a postoperative wellness model to optimize and enhance rapid surgical recovery

Rapid surgical recovery (RSR) is a bundle of multimodal, preventive, best and promising practices based on available evidence that simplify care and treatment processes. When performed together, the synergy has real potential for improving patient safety, quality care, and access. RSR is an aggressive, goal-directed, and outcome-driven approach that seeks to rapidly return patients to their functional baseline. This is achieved through humanizing, normalizing, preventive and restorative strategies designed to make patients feel remarkably well soon after surgery. Reimer-Kent's postoperative wellness model is a conceptual framework that provides strong support for attaining RSR. The results from program evaluations have demonstrated the positive impact of RSR on both the patient and the health care system. An overview of the model and the importance of RSR are provided in this article.