Patient education is an essential component of an Enhanced Recovery Pathway in colon and rectal surgery

Enhanced Recovery Pathways (ERP) have been shown to improve patient outcomes, including patient satisfaction, and length of stay. A key element of an ERP is effective patient education, which has been shown to increase overall patient adherence. In order to deliver effective patient education, it is important for the provider to understand the patient population, what to include in educational materials, and successful ways to deliver this information. Information is best delivered in a time-order process following alongside the patient's perioperative journey (pre-surgery/preoperative, day of surgery/intraoperative, post-surgery/postoperative, and post-discharge). The focus of these education sessions should be the "why" behind the "what" of each portion of the ERP. Education materials should make use of basic terminology, plain language, bullet points, checklists, images, drawings, and blank space, regardless of method of delivery, whether it be physical handbooks or a web-based platform. By adhering to basic principles of educational material design and information delivery, a provider can better ensure ERP success. (C) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.