title: Clinical pathway compliance and quality improvement.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Clinical pathways have been developed to guide evidence-based practice in health care. The documented use of a clinical pathway by clinicians can be measured by chart audit and used effectively as part of the quality improvement process. The application of a rigorous process of collecting data for quality improvement adds further evidence to the quality improvement process. This article describes a chart audit methodology developed and implemented to measure documented compliance with a myocardial infarction clinical pathway used in an acute hospital.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results informed a quality improvement process where documented use of the clinical pathway increased from 23 per cent to 58 per cent (p = 0.000). The chart audit methodology described was a key component in this successful quality improvement initiative.
authors.affiliation: LaTrobe University, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. l.kinsman@bendigo.latrobe.edu.au
authors.forename: Leigh
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kinsman
mesh_terms: D019091:Critical Pathways / Q000592:standards*; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000451:nursing; D009731:Nursing Audit / Q000379:methods; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research / Q000379:methods; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000458:organization & administration*