title: Clinical pathways can help manage managed care.
abstract: Clinical pathways are designed to map the course of medical or surgical interventions and their expected outcomes. They take into account standards of care and the human and material resources needed to provide specific services. Clinical pathways promote cost-effective, high-quality care and thereby help to standardize practice protocols and coordinate care. Healthcare organizations can decrease lengths of stay, reduce costs, and win more managed care contracts by developing and implementing comprehensive clinical pathways. Pathways can also make carve-outs and other specialty contract services easier to manage.
authors.affiliation: Jennings Ryan & Kolb, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Kilmer
mesh_terms: D003284:Contract Services; D003363:Cost Control; D019091:Critical Pathways / Q000458:organization & administration*; D007902:Length of Stay; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D014481:United States