Goals-to-Discharge Patient Checklist: Implementing a Program to Optimize Recovery After Surgery for Patients With Colorectal Cancer.

Fast-track or enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathways are evidence-based perioperative guides that promote stress reduction and earlier return to function following surgery. They emphasize preoperative counseling, nutrition optimization, analgesia standardization, fluid and electrolyte balance, minimally invasive approaches, and early ambulation. Although ERAS pathways were implemented in 2016 on a 43-bed postoperative colorectal medical-surgical unit, inpatient stays remained beyond the projected two-day length of stay (LOS). A quality improvement team was formed and an eight-week pilot project was initiated in 2018. The project included the implementation of a laminated bedside goals-to-discharge checklist in the immediate postoperative period.