The healthcare sector is under increasing pressure to enhance patient outcomes while controlling costs. Surgery is one of the largest contributors to healthcare costs, with over 300 million procedures performed globally each year. Despite advancements in surgical techniques and perioperative care, up to 40% of surgical procedures result in complications, leading to extended recovery times, readmissions, and increasing healthcare costs. These variations in patient outcomes highlight the need for standardized, evidence-based approaches to perioperative care. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS®) protocols provide a standardized framework designed to optimize surgical outcomes and reduce complications. Developed by the ERAS® Society, these protocols focus on improving the patient’s recovery by introducing evidence-based practices that span over preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative care. However, many hospitals struggle to maintain high compliance with these protocols, and failure to adhere to these guidelines can result in suboptimal outcomes and increasing costs. This is where auditing becomes critical. Auditing ensures that ERAS® protocols are implemented consistently across surgical teams, leading to improved patient outcomes and better resource utilization. Ongoing auditing also plays a vital role in the value-based healthcare (VBHC) model, where healthcare providers are incentivized to deliver high-quality care while obtaining cost reductions.
