Clinical pathway

A clinical pathway, also known as care pathway, integrated care pathway, critical pathway, or care map, is one of the main tools used to manage the quality in healthcare concerning the standardisation of care processes.^[1]^[2] It has been shown that their implementation reduces the variability in clinical practice and improves outcomes.^[3]^[4]^[5] Clinical pathways aim to promote organised and efficient patient care based on evidence-based medicine,^[6]^[7] and aim to optimise outcomes in settings such as acute care and home care. A single clinical pathway may refer to multiple clinical guidelines on several topics in a well specified context.

^ Kinsman, Leigh; Rotter, Thomas; James, Erica; Snow, Pamela; Willis, Jon (May 2010). "What is a clinical pathway?: development of a definition to inform the debate". BMC Medicine. 8: 31. doi:10.1186/1741-7015-8-31. PMC 2893088. PMID 20507550.
^ Panella, Massimiliano; Van Zelm, Ruben; Sermeus, Walter; Vanhaecht, Kris (January 2012). "Care pathways for the organization of patients' care". Bulletin: Economics, Organisation and Informatics in Healthcare. 28 (2). doi:10.2478/v10221-011-0026-z.
^ Panella, Massimiliano; Marchisio, Sara; Di Stanislao, Francesco (December 2003). "Reducing clinical variations with clinical pathways: do pathways work?". International Journal for Quality in Health Care. 15 (6): 509–521. doi:10.1093/intqhc/mzg057. PMID 14660534.
^ Rotter, Thomas; Kinsman, Leigh; James, Erica; Machotta, Andreas; Gothe, Holger; Willis, Jon; Snow, Pamela; Kugler, Joachim (March 2010). "Clinical pathways: effects on professional practice, patient outcomes, length of stay and hospital costs". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (3): CD006632. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD006632.pub2. PMID 20238347.
^ Rotter, Thomas; Kinsman, Leigh; James, Erica; Machotta, Andreas; Willis, Jon; Snow, Pamela; Kugler, Joachim (March 2012). "The effects of clinical pathways on professional practice, patient outcomes, length of stay, and hospital costs: Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis". Evaluation & the Health Professions. 35 (1): 3–27. doi:10.1177/0163278711407313. PMID 21613244. S2CID 24665905.
^ Deneckere, Svin; Euwema, Martin; Van Herck, Pieter; Lodewijckx, Cathy; Panella, Massimiliano; Sermeus, Walter; Vanhaecht, Kris (July 2012). "Care pathways lead to better teamwork: results of a systematic review". Social Science & Medicine. 75 (2): 264–268. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.02.060. PMID 22560883.
^ Deneckere, Svin; Euwema, Martin; Lodewijckx, Cathy; Panella, Massimiliano; Mutsvari, Timothy; Sermeus, Walter; Vanhaecht, Kris (January 2013). "Better interprofessional teamwork, higher level of organized care, and lower risk of burnout in acute health care teams using care pathways: a cluster randomized controlled trial". Medical Care. 51 (1): 99–107. doi:10.1097/MLR.0b013e3182763312. PMID 23132203. S2CID 31378466.

[1] Kinsman, Leigh; Rotter, Thomas; James, Erica; Snow, Pamela; Willis, Jon (May 2010). "What is a clinical pathway?: development of a definition to inform the debate". BMC Medicine. 8: 31. doi:10.1186/1741-7015-8-31. PMC 2893088. PMID 20507550.

[2] Panella, Massimiliano; Van Zelm, Ruben; Sermeus, Walter; Vanhaecht, Kris (January 2012). "Care pathways for the organization of patients' care". Bulletin: Economics, Organisation and Informatics in Healthcare. 28 (2). doi:10.2478/v10221-011-0026-z.

[3] Panella, Massimiliano; Marchisio, Sara; Di Stanislao, Francesco (December 2003). "Reducing clinical variations with clinical pathways: do pathways work?". International Journal for Quality in Health Care. 15 (6): 509–521. doi:10.1093/intqhc/mzg057. PMID 14660534.

[4] Rotter, Thomas; Kinsman, Leigh; James, Erica; Machotta, Andreas; Gothe, Holger; Willis, Jon; Snow, Pamela; Kugler, Joachim (March 2010). "Clinical pathways: effects on professional practice, patient outcomes, length of stay and hospital costs". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (3): CD006632. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD006632.pub2. PMID 20238347.

[5] Rotter, Thomas; Kinsman, Leigh; James, Erica; Machotta, Andreas; Willis, Jon; Snow, Pamela; Kugler, Joachim (March 2012). "The effects of clinical pathways on professional practice, patient outcomes, length of stay, and hospital costs: Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis". Evaluation & the Health Professions. 35 (1): 3–27. doi:10.1177/0163278711407313. PMID 21613244. S2CID 24665905.

[6] Deneckere, Svin; Euwema, Martin; Van Herck, Pieter; Lodewijckx, Cathy; Panella, Massimiliano; Sermeus, Walter; Vanhaecht, Kris (July 2012). "Care pathways lead to better teamwork: results of a systematic review". Social Science & Medicine. 75 (2): 264–268. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.02.060. PMID 22560883.

[7] Deneckere, Svin; Euwema, Martin; Lodewijckx, Cathy; Panella, Massimiliano; Mutsvari, Timothy; Sermeus, Walter; Vanhaecht, Kris (January 2013). "Better interprofessional teamwork, higher level of organized care, and lower risk of burnout in acute health care teams using care pathways: a cluster randomized controlled trial". Medical Care. 51 (1): 99–107. doi:10.1097/MLR.0b013e3182763312. PMID 23132203. S2CID 31378466.

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