New National Perioperative Guideline for the Delivery of Quality Care for Geriatric Surgical Patients Released
Joint best practice recommendations from American College of Surgeons and American Geriatrics Society address unique care required for older adults facing surgery.
Chicago (Jan. 4, 2016)—Responding to the needs of the country’s growing older adult population, a new collaborative best practices guideline was released today for optimal care of older adults immediately before, during, and after surgical operations (a timeframe known as the “perioperative” period). The new consensus-based guideline was developed by the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®) and the American Geriatrics Society’s (AGS) Geriatrics-for- Specialists Initiative (GSI), with support from The John A. Hartford Foundation. With more than 40 million older adults living in the U.S. today—and with that number expected to nearly double to 89 million by 2050—providing expert guidance on surgical care is key since the need for surgical services increases with age and targeted guidance during the perioperative period can speed recovery.