System-Wide Improvement for Transitions After Surgery: The SWIFT Post op Program

Study Summary

Short-term post-operative complications after colon and rectal surgery present a known major clinical and financial burden for patients and hospitals. Focused efforts to reduce readmissions after colorectal surgery is one potentially high-yield and broad approach to address this problem since post- operative complications are the strongest predictor of readmissions. We focus on decreasing readmissions after ileostomy surgery by using a previously published intervention that prevents dehydration in the outpatient setting and decreases acute renal failure complications. We plan to introduce the SWIFT post op program for ileostomy patients at one academic and two community hospitals which are part of a single health care system, and to then randomize patients to usual care in the setting of this new program versus an aggressive compliance surveillance and improvement strategy (CSIS) strategy using study personnel. Our primary study outcome is all-cause 30-day readmission, and our secondary outcomes include patient satisfaction (CAHPS scores) and a cost-benefit analysis. We seek to create a partnership between colorectal surgeons, inpatient nurse managers and wound ostomy continence nurses (WOCN) at the three sites, linking them with outpatient nurse practitioners and physician's assistants at the respective colorectal surgery clinics who facilitate care-transition after hospital discharge.

Interventions

• BEHAVIORAL compliance surveillance and improvement strategy