COPD pathway cuts costs per case by $900.
Mobile (AL) Infirmary Medical Center's clinical pathway for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has cut length of stay from 7.8 days to 5.6 days, and cut costs per case from $4,050 to $3,170, resulting in an annual profit of more than $300,000. One reason for the pathway's high degree of physician buy-in has been case managers' willingness to make changes to the pathway with a minimum of red tape. One early revision to the COPD pathway was the development of specific patient goals for each day of the path. Other revisions included making the pathway a permanent part of the medical record and attaching relevant protocols to the pathway, such as a protocol for oxygen therapy.
D000407:Alabama; D019090:Case Management / Q000458:organization & administration; D017046:Cost Savings / Q000379:methods; D019091:Critical Pathways / Q000191:economics*; D006746:Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over; D017721:Hospital Costs / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008173:Lung Diseases, Obstructive / Q000191:economics* / Q000628:therapy; D008499:Medical Records