The research was performed in accordance with institutional human research ethics requirements and the Declaration of Helsinki. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Guangzhou Dongsheng Hospital (Approval No. 2022-008). All participants or their legal guardians provided written informed consent.
Study design and participants
A non-synchronous controlled design was used. Elderly patients hospitalized in the orthopedic department of a tertiary hospital between September 2024 and September 2025 were screened. Patients admitted between September 2024 and March 2025 comprised the control group, and those admitted between March 2025 and September 2025 comprised the experimental group. A 00:00 cutoff on March 1, 2025, was established to prevent intervention contamination. During the entire study period, full-time ward staffing, monthly surgical volume, operating room quota, and diagnostic appointment capacity were kept stable; bed occupancy fluctuated within ±3% according to hospital operation records, reducing but not eliminating temporal confounding.
Sample size
The primary endpoint was total waiting time. The sample size was calculated using Equation 1 as follows:

Here, n₁ and n₂ represent the experimental and control group sample sizes, respectively; σ represents the estimated standard deviation; δ represents the between-group mean difference; α was 0.05; and statistical power was 0.90. With uα = 1.96 and uβ = 1.28, each group required approximately 42 cases. Considering 20% attrition, at least 51 cases per group and at least 102 cases in total were required. The estimated standard deviation (σ) of 4.5 h and the anticipated between-group mean difference (δ) of 3.2 h were derived from a preliminary pilot study conducted at our center. The sample size was not calculated for complication outcomes; therefore, nonsignificant complication results were interpreted with caution.
Inclusion criteria
Patients were included if they (1) were aged ≥60 years; (2) were scheduled for elective hip arthroplasty, knee arthroplasty, or spinal surgery; (3) were eligible for ERAS implementation with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status class I–III11; (4) were expected to stay in the hospital for ≥7 d; (5) were conscious and able to cooperate with basic nursing procedures and assessments; and (6) were willing to participate and provided written informed consent.
Exclusion and elimination criteria
Patients were excluded if they (1) had severe cardiac, pulmonary, hepatic, or renal insufficiency; (2) had severe cognitive impairment or psychiatric disorders; (3) had malignant tumors or an expected survival of <6 months; (4) had contraindications to ERAS; (5) had participated in another clinical study within the previous 3 months; or (6) refused to participate. Patients were eliminated if they (1) required transfer to the intensive care unit or another hospital; (2) developed severe complications requiring treatment modification; (3) stayed <7 d; (4) refused assessments more than three times; (5) had >30% missing baseline or outcome data; or (6) were subsequently found not to meet the eligibility criteria.
Grouping
A total of 120 eligible patients were enrolled. Seven patients in the control group and eight patients in the experimental group were excluded during follow-up. Finally, 53 patients in the control group and 52 patients in the experimental group were analyzed. The control group received conventional ERAS nursing, including preoperative education, fasting and fluid restriction management, intraoperative temperature maintenance, postoperative pain control, early mobilization guidance, routine safety management, and standard multidisciplinary communication12,13.
Construction of the VSM-guided intervention
A VSM optimization team was established, consisting of one head nurse, one deputy head nurse, five orthopedic specialist nurses, two orthopedic attending physicians, and one rehabilitation therapist. Team members completed 1 week of training in VSM, lean healthcare, ERAS nursing, workflow analysis, and data collection14,15. VSM was used only as a quantitative diagnostic analysis tool. Centralized examination scheduling, visual dashboards, multidisciplinary collaboration, standardized manuals, and materials management were identified as targeted solutions following VSM-based root-cause analysis16,17. Thus, the final clinical benefit was attributed to the complete optimized ERAS nursing package rather than to VSM alone.
Current-state mapping
Workflow data from 50 geriatric orthopedic patients admitted between June 1, 2024, and August 31, 2024, were reviewed to construct the current value stream. Key workflow nodes included admission assessment, preoperative examination, preoperative education, preoperative preparation, surgery, postoperative monitoring, pain management, first ambulation, rehabilitation training, and discharge preparation. The current-state map identified customer value activities, business value activities, and non–value-added delays. Preoperative education, surgery, pain management, and rehabilitation training were defined as customer value activities, totaling approximately 180 min. Mandatory business activities required approximately 420 min. Waiting for test results, surgical scheduling, and bed turnover created approximately 1,680 min of non–value-added time. The current workflow is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Current-state value stream map of the geriatric orthopedic enhanced recovery after surgery nursing process before optimization. The current-state value stream map illustrates the sequence of admission assessment, preoperative examination, preoperative education, preoperative preparation, surgical procedure, postoperative care, pain management, first ambulation, rehabilitation training, and discharge preparation. Activities are categorized as customer value or business value, and warning symbols indicate workflow delays. Value efficiency was 25.00%, process efficiency was 7.89%, total process time was 2,280 min, delay time was 1,680 min, preoperative preparation time was 72 h, first postoperative ambulation time was 48 h, and the average hospital stay was 14 d. ERAS, enhanced recovery after surgery; CV, customer value; BV, business value; VE, value efficiency; PE, process efficiency. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
The two efficiency metrics, value efficiency (VE) and process efficiency (PE), were calculated using customer value (CV) as follows (Equations 2 and 3):


The original VE was 25.00%, and the original PE was 7.89%. A fishbone diagram was then used to analyze personnel, equipment, materials, methods, environment, and other contributing factors associated with process delays and inefficiency (Figure 2). Based on these findings, an improvement burst diagram was developed (Figure 3), followed by a future-state optimized ERAS nursing process (Figure 4).

Figure 2: Fishbone analysis of factors contributing to process delays and inefficiency. The fishbone diagram summarizes the root-cause analysis of workflow delays identified during value stream mapping. Contributing factors were categorized into personnel, equipment, materials, methods, environment, and other contributing factors. The identified causes include workload and time-management issues, inconsistent implementation standards, inadequate multidisciplinary communication, strained operating room resources, inefficient materials management, limited rehabilitation resources, equipment-related problems, and delays associated with laboratory testing and patient transport. ERAS, enhanced recovery after surgery. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.

Figure 3: Kaizen burst diagram illustrating the optimized geriatric orthopedic enhanced recovery after surgery care process. The diagram illustrates the principal workflow stages and the targeted improvement measures derived from value stream mapping–based root-cause analysis. Key interventions include centralized booking, standardized manuals, materials management, visual Kanban monitoring, multidisciplinary team collaboration, and continuous feedback to improve workflow efficiency, reduce waiting time, enhance communication, and standardize perioperative care. ERAS, enhanced recovery after surgery; MDT, multidisciplinary team. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.

Figure 4: Future-state optimized enhanced recovery after surgery nursing process for geriatric orthopedic patients. The future-state value stream map illustrates the optimized perioperative nursing pathway, including standardized admission assessment, centralized preoperative examination scheduling, patient education, fasting management, preoperative preparation, surgery, postoperative care, rehabilitation training, pain management, first ambulation, and discharge preparation. The embedded summary table presents the working time, delay time, completion rate, and optimization measures for each workflow step. After optimization, value efficiency increased from 25.00% to 43.75%, process efficiency increased from 7.89% to 42.13%, and the average hospital stay decreased from 14 d to 10 d. ERAS, enhanced recovery after surgery; VE, value efficiency; PE, process efficiency. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Implementation
The trial phase ran from September 1, 2024, to February 28, 2025. All nurses received ≥8 h of standardized ERAS nursing training. A centralized appointment system was used so that preoperative examinations could be completed within 24 h after admission. Preoperative education was delivered through simplified illustrated materials, videos, and one-on-one nurse guidance. Fasting was standardized to 6 h for solids and 2 h for clear liquids; fluid intake began 2 h after surgery; a liquid diet began 4–6 h postoperatively; bedside sitting began 6–12 h postoperatively; and first ambulation was targeted within 24 h18,19. Visual dashboards at the nursing station displayed patient pathway progress, and dedicated supply cabinets reduced material search time. A multidisciplinary communication group and a daily 08:00 morning handover coordinated surgical schedules, precautions, nursing progress, and rehabilitation plans. After the 6-month trial and adjustment period, formal implementation began on March 1, 2025.
Evaluation indicators
Nursing efficiency indicators included PE, preoperative preparation time, first postoperative ambulation time, and average length of stay. Waiting indicators included preoperative examination waiting time, surgical waiting time, nursing procedure waiting time, and total waiting time. Total waiting time was defined as the sum of non-overlapping non–value-added waiting intervals during hospitalization; overlapping waiting periods were excluded to avoid duplicate counting. Postoperative rehabilitation indicators included Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain scores at 24, 48, and 72 h, time to first flatus, and joint range of motion at 7 d. Complications during hospitalization included deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary infection, wound infection, pressure ulcer, and falls. Nursing satisfaction was assessed 1 d before discharge using a 20-item questionnaire covering nursing attitude, nursing skills, health education, and environmental comfort. Materials and software used for this study are listed in Table of Materials.
Statistical analysis
Only statistical analysts were blinded to the group assignments; nurses, physicians, and patients could not be blinded because of the nature of the workflow optimization. To reduce performance and measurement bias, objective time-related data were extracted from the hospital information system where available. Statistical analyses were performed using statistical software. Shapiro–Wilk and Levene’s tests were used to assess normality and homogeneity of variance, respectively. Normally distributed quantitative data are presented as mean ± standard deviation and were compared using independent-samples t-tests. Categorical data are presented as numbers (percentages) and were compared using the chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. A p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.