title: Clinical care paths: a role for finance in clinical decision-making.
abstract: Care paths map the critical actions and decision points across a patient's course of medical treatment; their purpose is to guide physicians in the delivery of high-quality care while reducing care costs by avoiding services that do not contribute meaningfully to positive outcomes. Each care path development initiative should be led by a respected physician champion, whose specialty is in the area of the care episode being mapped, with the support of a clinician project manager. Once the care path has been developed and implemented, the finance leader's role begins in earnest with the tracking of financial and clinical data against care paths.
authors.affiliation: Numerof & Associates, Inc., St. Louis, USA. mabrams@nai-consulting.com
authors.forename: Michael N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Abrams
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cummings
authors.forename: Dana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hage
mesh_terms: D019091:Critical Pathways / Q000191:economics* / Q000592:standards*; D003657:Decision Making; D005377:Financial Management, Hospital; D006801:Humans; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care