Prevalence and use of clinical pathways in 23 countries – an international survey by the European Pathway Association

Abstract

Objectives To give an overview on the use and prevalence of clinical pathways. Design Cross-sectional descriptive study. Study participants European Pathway Association (E-P-A) contact persons in 23 countries. Results Clinical pathways, also known as critical pathways or integrated care pathways, have been used in health care for 20 years. Although clinical pathways are well established, little information exists on their use and dissemination around the world. The E-P-A has performed their first international survey on the use and dissemination of clinical pathways in 23 countries. At present, pathways are used with a minority of patients, mainly in acute hospital trusts. Our survey showed that clinical pathways were predominantly viewed as a multidisciplinary tool to improve the quality and efficiency of evidence-based care. Pathways were also used as a communication tool between professionals to manage and standardize outcome-oriented care. Conclusions There is a future for the use of clinical pathways, but there is a need for international benchmarking and knowledge sharing with regard to their development, implementation and evaluation.

Critical pathway for patients undergoing aortic-surgery: Impact on postoperative care at an intensive care unit in Sweden

“…3 Patients who have undergone aortic-surgery are in great need of high quality care, with early postoperative treatments for an optimal outcome and early recovery. [17][18][19][20] The need for systematic evaluations of pathways has been cited 6,[21][22] by organisations such as the Swedish Society of Nursing 23 the European Pathway Association, 2 and the Cochrane Collaboration. 24 No published Swedish study on the introduction of critical pathway for patients undergoing aortic-surgery has been found.…”

“…[1][2][3] The implementation of critical pathways has increased worldwide in recent years and in most countries pathways have been developed mainly to achieve improvements in the quality of care. 1,[4][5][6] Critical pathways have been developed for practically all surgical procedures including aortic surgery.…”

Intensive care nurses’ conceptions of a critical pathway in caring for aortic-surgery patients: A phenomenographic study

“…CPs are generally accepted as an effective quality system (De Bleser et al 2006;Ronellenfitsch et al 2008;Vanhaecht et al 2006), and the present study corresponds with this as the CP was conceptualized, among other ways, as an instrument for patient safety. Other authors have highlighted that CP can support the implementation of national and local guidelines into clinical practice and help care professionals to keep in touch with the latest scientific evidence (Currie and Harvey, 2000;Ronellenfitsch et al 2008).…”

Organiseringa av 22 pasientforløp i Helse Vest

“…Internationally, standardized care pathways are increasingly being used as a tool for improving the quality of diagnostics, treatment and follow-up of hospital patients (5).…”