title: Guiding practice improvements in pediatric surgery using multidisciplinary clinical pathways.
abstract: Clinical pathways guide the evaluation and care of patient populations and can advance the strategic initiatives of the organization as well. To meet external and internal demands, this organization developed pathways to reduce variability in practice, integrate available evidence into care delivery, improve care coordination and documentation, increase efficiencies, and provide outcomes data to consumers and payers. The authors highlight processes and outcomes of some of the organization's surgical pathways, including guidelines for children with second degree burns grafted with TransCyte, those children hospitalized for tonsillectomy or adenoidectomy, appendectomies, atrial and ventricular septal defects, and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy or surgical gastrostomy procedures.
authors.affiliation: Children's National Medical Center and The George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC 20010, USA.
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Kathleen E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Chavanu
authors.forename: Kurt D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Newman
mesh_terms: D001062:Appendectomy; D002056:Burns / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019091:Critical Pathways; D004219:District of Columbia; D006801:Humans; D007324:Institutional Management Teams; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*