Customer spotlight: IRCCS Sacro Cuore & Dr. Elisa Bertocchi
Across health systems, elective backlogs persist not because we lack operating lists, but because beds don’t turn over fast enough and complications block flow. ERAS® changes that dynamic: shorter, safer recoveries and more predictable discharges return bed-days and nurse-hours to the system, the real currency of access.
We’re proud to congratulate Dr. Elisa Bertocchi, Dr Ruffo, and the team at IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital (Negrar di Valpolicella, Italy) on their open-access paper in World Journal of Surgery. As an ERAS® Qualified Center (and Training Center) using EIAS (ERAS® Interactive Audit System) to audit adherence and outcomes, their colorectal unit shows what high-compliance ERAS® looks like in practice.
What their study shows—in queue terms
- Complications fall and recovery is faster (LOS halved), while readmissions do not rise. That combination unblocks beds and protects tomorrow’s elective list.
- Pathway costs decrease overall, despite higher preoperative investments, driven by fewer complications, shorter stays, and smarter use of medication and blood products, not by cutting corners.
Why this crushes queues
Lower LOS and fewer outliers free capacity you already own. In queue math: patients in beds ≈ throughput × average LOS. Reduce LOS and variability, and you move more patients with the same beds and staff.
How to copy their success
- Start ERAS® implementation where the bed-days are (e.g., colorectal, HPB, gyn-onc).
- Relentlessly ERAS® audit with EIAS, track ERAS® adherence alongside LOS, complications, readmissions, and cancellations.
- Protect discharge (to-take-out meds, transport, step-down/virtual ward) so saved bed-days aren’t lost to delays.
Author spotlight: Lead author Dr. Elisa Bertocchi and IRCCS Sacro Cuore’s cross-functional team (Surgery, Anesthesiology, Pharmacy, Biostatistics, Planning & Control, Hospital Management) exemplify implementation science: audit → adherence → outcomes → access.
Read the open-access article and see the full story behind the flow gains.
