Implementation of Enhanced Anesthesia Recovery Program (EARP) for improving Anesthesia Related patient care outcomes...

The Enhanced Anesthesia Recovery Program (EARP) is a unique patient-centered, Anesthesiologist-led quality improvement initiative designed to reduce postoperative anesthesia-related complications and to accelerate recovery. Anesthesia-related complications are known to be associated with poor patient outcomes and higher morbidity/mortality. This project was designed to develop protocols to improve anesthesia recovery and thereby the quality of patient outcomes. A detailed review of national & international guidelines was carried out and EARP pathways were designed to incorporate changes in perioperative management, as per recent clinical research findings, to improve the patient surgery experience, ensuring better postoperative cognitive function and a reduction in postoperative morbidity. Following project implementation, a remarkable improvement was seen in Anesthesia Related patient care outcomes, benefitting around 6233 patients. The median Length of Stay in PACU was reduced from 26 minutes to 18 minutes. Early Return of Cognitive Functions (Early Recovery) was evident by a reduction in the time for a post-operative return of cognitive functions, from 10 minutes to 3 minutes. The percentage of people requiring oxygen supplementation was reduced from 20% to 5%. The unplanned tracheal re-intubation Rate was reduced from 0.05 to 0.02. The percentage of patients experiencing postoperative nausea and vomiting was reduced from 8% to 3%. This initiative also resulted in about a 50% reduction in spending on anesthetic agents for patients.