Integrating care pathway components in surgical innovation research

Surgery is a complex healthcare intervention involving multiple interacting components. It is usually supported by additional care pathway components (CPCs). CPCs are aimed at optimising outcomes for patients before, during and after surgery. They can include:

• Prehabilitation – enhances patient’s condition before surgery
• Medical optimisation – ensures best outcomes from medication
• Diet
• Anaesthesia
• Pain relief
• Exercise
• Physiotherapy

Innovation is central to surgery, ranging from adapting existing procedures to introducing new techniques or devices. Although we understand that CPCs are important for maximising the impact of new procedures, early-phase research often focuses solely on the procedure itself.

Optimising CPCs alongside surgical innovation will inform how new procedures are developed within the surgical care pathway. It will also inform how they are evaluated and successfully introduced into practice.

Project aims

To explore if and how CPCs are currently considered and integrated within early phase research of surgical innovation.

What we hope to achieve

This research will generate preliminary insights into key areas that need addressing to optimise efficient and valid surgical care pathway innovation.

We hope that our work will support the development of a grant for further research.