Critical pathways. A systematic review.
Critical pathways are care plans that detail the essential steps in patient care with a view to describing the expected progress of the patient. The authors' review of the literature suggest the use of critical pathways reduces the cost of care and the length of patient stay in hospital. They also have a positive impact on outcomes, such as increased quality of care and patient satisfaction, improved continuity of information, and patient education.
Renholm
Marja
M
Department of Medicine, Helsinki University Central Hospital, FIN-00290 Helsinki, Finland. marja.renholm@dlc.fi
Leino-Kilpi
Helena
H
Suominen
Tarja
T
D019985:Benchmarking; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000592:standards; D003363:Cost Control; D019091:Critical Pathways / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003625:Data Collection; D003953:Diagnosis-Related Groups / Q000145:classification; D017721:Hospital Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009731:Nursing Audit / Q000379:methods; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research / Q000379:methods; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000592:standards; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012107:Research Design; D013997:Time Factors