Background: Adult colorectal surgery patients continue to have high rates of readmissions, despite known risk factors for non-routine postdischarge care (emergency department (ED) visit or rehospitalization) and countless interventions to address these. It is unclear how the patient perspective frames and modifies the impact of these risk factors. This study aimed to explain why individual risk-factors led a patient to seek non-routine postdischarge care. Methods: This single institution prospective cohort study identified consecutive adult inpatient colorectal surgery patients from 2017-2018. We used a convergent parallel design to integrate electronic health record data with brief phone surveys and in-depth interviews to generate a “what, why, and so what” summary of findings. Findings: We enrolled 258 participants, surveyed 167, and interviewed 18. Overall, 20% were readmitted, 3% had an ED visit, 2% had an observation stay, and 75% had routine postdischarge care. Undergoing open surgery (RR 2.25, 95% CI 1.31-3.87) and reporting depressive symptoms (RR 1.85, 95% CI 1.02-3.37) were associated with an increased non-routine healthcare utilization. Whereas, each 10 miles increasing travel distance (RR 0.94, 95% CI 0.90-0.98), private insurance (RR 0.61 , 95% CI 0.40-0.93), and proactively scheduled follow-up appointments (RR 0.43, 95% CI 0.27-0.69) were protective factors. Patients with non-routine postdischarge care (26%) were less likely to report communication with their surgical team (80% vs 97%, p<0.001). These crude findings were often complemented and expanded upon by patient quotes. Interpretation: There are numerous non-quantifiable risk factors that explain why one patient is more likely to visit an ED close to home whereas another patient might prefer to visit their surgeon’s clinic directly. Effective strategies to reduce unplanned postdischarge care should be tailored to address both the quantifiable risk factors as well as patient preferences. Funding Statement: This project was supported by grant number F32HS026363 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Research Foundation of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons – General Surgery Resident Research Initiation Grant – GSRRIG 042 Declaration of Interests: The authors have no relevant conflicts of interest or disclaimers. Ethics Approval Statement: All participants gave informed and written consent during their index hospitalization. This study was reviewed and approved by the University of North Carolina Institutional Review Board (#17-1235).