title: 'Staircase' replaces traditional pathways.
abstract: Tired of using traditional clinical pathways, case managers at an Arizona hospital developed a "staircase to wellness" for patients instead. The staircase approach allows more flexibility for the patient's recovery because it doesn't mandate certain procedures or goals be met on certain days. Instead, the patients follows certain "steps" to recovery in the preoperative, intensive care, recovery, and discharge portions of the hospital stay. Physicians and nurses like the new approach of mapping the patient's progress better than older methods because it allows for individual differences in patients and continuity of care is improved.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Anders
mesh_terms: D001130:Arizona; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000592:standards; D019091:Critical Pathways / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D010347:Patient Care Planning / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D010358:Patient Participation