WEB170920 - On the Fast Track with the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Protocol

Despite increasing awareness and diagnosing of malnutrition and its effects, one in three patients continue to be malnourished with an annual cost of $156.7 billion for disease-related malnutrition in the U.S. across eight diseases. Malnutrition is now also becoming a leading cause of hospital re-admissions and increased health care costs. Thus, treatment and prevention programs are now even more imperative. The purpose of Malnutrition Awareness Week is to continue to raise awareness of malnutrition and its negative effects on individuals and health care costs. In addition, Malnutrition Awareness Week activities intend, to provide specific strategies for addressing and implementing programs and resources to combat malnutrition within the hospital and community settings. This webinar will address the feasbility of providing cost effective oral nutrition supplements (ONS) to malnourished patients in the hospital and how standardization of administration can improve patient outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

1. Briefly define ERAS and the development of the program
2. Explain the implementation process of ERAS in the surgical patient
3. Describe potential barriers to implementation within the healthcare system and individual patients
4. List strategies for increasing acceptance and adoption of the ERAS program with in the United States