title: Pathways to nowhere.
abstract: Early in the decade, health care discovered a powerful patient care management tool: the clinical path. Leaders in the field latched onto paths as the solution to cost and quality dilemmas, but they overlooked the importance of the underlying principles of quality management. Beyond Clinical Paths, a new book from American Hospital Publishing, focuses on the issues critical to successful quality improvement through clinical paths. The following excerpt by the book's editor, Patrice L. Spath, sets the stage for a new approach to clinical quality.
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Spath
mesh_terms: D019091:Critical Pathways; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D008332:Management Quality Circles; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States