title: Mapping care.
abstract: Managing clinical quality and assessing the efficacy of clinical operations are key objectives for all health care providers--but pressure is growing to do more with fewer resources. As a result, many innovators are turning to critical paths as a tool that can help them achieve those goals. Indeed, a new survey by Hospitals & Health Networks and Medicus Systems Corp. finds critical paths are taking hold in health care organizations in a big way. Of those hospital executives surveyed, 57 percent say they have a critical paths program. But the survey also uncovered a slew of names for the tools being used, and experts agree there are wide disparities in innovators' motivations, methods and achievements.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lumsdon
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hagland
mesh_terms: D002985:Clinical Protocols; D003625:Data Collection; D006739:Hospital Administration / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D016730:Program Development / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000592:standards; D014481:United States