The Effect of Implementing a Standardized Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Pain Management Pathway at an Urban Medical Center in Hawaii

Abstract

Traditional use of opioids to treat postoperative pain may lead to abuse and overdose. The development of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols has helped to shift pain management from traditional methods to evidence‐based best practices involving multimodal analgesia techniques. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to implement and determine the effectiveness of a standardized, evidence‐based ERAS pain management pathway for patients undergoing colorectal or gynecology procedures at a medical center in Hawaii. After the intervention, the evaluation of data associated with opioid use, patients’ pain scores, time spent in the postanesthesia care unit, and inpatient length of stay showed that most results were not significant. However, the ERAS pain management pathway did reduce clinical practice variations, intraoperative opioid administration, the time that patients spent in the postanesthesia care unit, and length of stay. The ERAS pain management pathway continues to be used and updated at this facility.