Study: Implementation costs of ERAS program

Editor's Note

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programs have led to reduction in length of stay and improved outcomes. This study finds that investment in an ERAS program also leads to financial savings.

Despite positive results from international ERAS programs, the US has been slow to adopt such programs, in part because of their costs.

In this study, researchers evaluate the potential annual cost savings of implementing an ERAS program for colorectal surgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore.

Results showed that the cost of nearly $553,000 to implement an ERAS program was offset by savings in the first year of nearly $949,000, for a net savings of nearly $400,000.