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Supporting Patient Goals Through Standardization and Documentation of Surgical Goals in the Electronic Health Record
K A Telma1, A L Hitzeman2, J N Cohan3,4
1Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
|September 22, 2026
Abstract
Problem:
Surgical goals should be plausible and valuable to patients. Yet the goal of surgery is rarely discussed preoperatively.
Methods:
We used human centered design to develop and alpha test a strategy to document the goal of surgery for each episode of surgical care.
Findings:
Surgeons can use this strategy to routinely document "What Matters" for older adults planning surgery.