Preferred Name
Jeffrey Eavey
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5041-972X
Date of Graduation
5-9-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Department
School of Nursing
Advisor(s)
Erica Lewis
Rachel Nauman
Abstract
Abstract
Bariatric surgery is a procedure known to eradicate disease and improve the quality of life for patients suffering from obesity. The pathway to bariatric surgery is a comprehensive and lengthy process; therefore, patients require additional support from the multidisciplinary healthcare team and their support system. The accrediting body of an academic medical center bariatric surgery program (BSP) requires the program to limit and reduce 30-day all cause postoperative emergency department (ED) visits and 30-day all cause postoperative readmissions. A telemedicine visit within two weeks prior to surgery was added with the intent to assess patients for knowledge deficits and support needs and address any needs. Postoperative ED and readmission rates post-intervention were compared to a retrospective, pre-intervention sample in the same timeframe one year prior. A clinically significant reduction in readmission occurred among the post-intervention sample. The 30-day all cause readmission rate decreased from 8.88% (pre-intervention) to 1.75% (post-intervention). The 30-day all cause emergency department readmission rate decreased from 15.56% (pre-intervention) to 14.04% (post-intervention). The outcomes suggest a favorable impact of the telemedicine visit.
Keywords: bariatric surgery, emergency department utilization, readmissions, support, socioeconomic, racial
Recommended Citation
Eavey, Jeffrey, "Enhanced bariatric surgery preoperative support to improve postoperative surgical outcomes" (2024). Doctors of Nursing Practice (DNP) Final Projects, 2020-current. 37.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/dnp202029/37
