What is a clinical pathway in healthcare?

What is a clinical pathway in healthcare?

Clinical pathways (CPWs) are tools used to guide evidence-based healthcare. Their aim is to translate clinical practice guideline recommendations into clinical processes of care within the unique culture and environment of a healthcare institution.

What do we mean when we talk about clinical pathways?

A clinical pathway essentially translates practice guidelines into specific, standard care for a defined patient population. In other words, it gives your doctor a defined protocol for your care. There is solid evidence that appropriate use of clinical pathways can improve patient outcomes.

What is a benefit of a clinical pathway?

Clinical pathways have been shown to reduce unnecessary variation in patient care, reduce delays in discharge through more efficient discharge planning, and improve the cost-effectiveness of clinical services.

How do you do a clinical pathway?

1. CLINICAL PATHWAY DEVELOPMENT.
2. GETTING STARTED.
3. DATA REVIEW/BENCHMARKING.
4. EVALUATE CURRENT PRACTICES.
5. CREATING THE PATHWAY.
6. OUTCOME MEASUREMENT.
7. PHYSICIAN STANDING ORDERS/INTERDISCIPLINARY. DOCUMENTATION.
8. STAFF EDUCATION.

What are clinical guidelines?

a. Definition: Clinical practice guidelines are statements that include recommendations intended to optimize patient care that are informed by a systematic review of evidence and an assessment of the benefits and harms of alternative care options.

What are clinical practices?

Clinical practice is defined as a model of practice that involves those activities with and on behalf of clients, especially those activities completed in the client’s presence and with the client’s collaboration. These activities are informed by an ecologically based biopsychosocial assessment.

What does pathway mean in medical terms?

The route that a patient follows from the first contact with an NHS member of staff (typically his or her GP) through referral to the completion of treatment. The pathway also covers the period from entry into a hospital or a treatment centre until discharge.

What is patient pathway in the NHS?

The specific route that a particular PATIENT takes from the first REFERRAL REQUEST RECEIVED DATE of a SERVICE REQUEST or the ACTIVITY DATE of the first emergency ACTIVITY where there is no related SERVICE REQUEST.

How are clinical pathways used in health care?

Clinical pathways incorporate clinical guidelines, evidence-based guidelines and protocols for common diagnoses, conditions and procedures into algorithms. These algorithms are used by the multidisciplinary care team in providing care to the patient.

What is a clinical pathway and case management plan?

Clinical Pathway/Case Management Plan: A timeline of patient care activities and expected outcomes of care that address the plan of care of each discipline involved in the care of a particular patient.

Where did the concept of care pathways come from?

The care pathway concept appeared for the first time in 1985 inspired by Karen Zander and Kathleen Bower at the New England Medical Center in Boston (Massachusetts, USA). Care pathways are usually represented as a Gantt chart (Figure 1). So far, different systematisation tools were being used for clinical processes.

What should be the selection criteria for care pathways?

This is a phase in which the consensus is reached on care procedure to be followed in care pathway. Pathways should be designed for frequent and important (high risk / high cost) care procedures with an expected clinical course. What should be the selection criteria?