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. 2023 Dec 15:7:e49277.
doi: 10.2196/49277.

Patient and Provider Experiences With a Digital App to Improve Compliance With Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Protocols: Mixed Methods Evaluation of a Canadian Experience

Sanjay Beesoon  1   2 , Ashley Drobot  3 , Melissa Smokeyday  1 , Al-Bakir Ali  3 , Zoe Collins  3 , Colin Reynolds  3 , Sandra Berzins  1   4 , Alison Gibson  5 , Gregg Nelson  6
Affiliations

Patient and Provider Experiences With a Digital App to Improve Compliance With Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Protocols: Mixed Methods Evaluation of a Canadian Experience

Sanjay Beesoon et al. JMIR Form Res. .

Abstract

Background: Of all the care provided in health care systems, major surgical interventions are the costliest and can carry significant risks. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) is a bundle of interventions that help improve patient outcomes and experience along their surgical journey. However, given that patients can be overwhelmed by the multiple tasks that they are expected to follow, a digital application, the ERAS app, was developed to help improve the implementation of ERAS.

Objective: The objective of this work was to conduct a thorough assessment of patient and provider experiences using the ERAS app.

Methods: Patients undergoing colorectal or gynecological oncology surgery at 2 different hospitals in the province of Alberta, Canada, were invited to use the ERAS app and report on their experiences using it. Likewise, care providers were recruited to participate in this study to provide feedback on the performance of this app. Data were collected by an online survey and using qualitative interviews with participants. NVivo was used to analyze qualitative interview data, while quantitative data were analyzed using Excel and SPSS.

Results: Overall, patients found the app to be helpful in preparation for and recovery after surgery. Patients reported having access to reliable unbiased information regarding their surgery, and the app provided them with clarity of actions needed along their surgical journey and enhanced the self-management of their care. Clinicians found that the ERAS app was easy to navigate, was simple for older adults, and has the potential to decrease unnecessary visits and phone calls to care providers. Overall, this proof-of-concept study on the use of a digital health app to accompany patients during their health care journey has shown positive results.

Conclusions: This is an important finding considering the massive investment and interest in promoting digital health in health care systems around the world.

Keywords: app; application; care; colorectal surgery; cost-effective; digital health; evaluation; gynecologic oncology; implementation; patient experience; provider satisfaction; recovery; surgery.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Patient and provider views of the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) app.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Quality of Recovery-15 scores for general well-being with the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) app.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Quality of Recovery-15 scores for clinical outcomes with the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) app.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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