title: Clinical pathway for video-assisted thoracic surgery: the Hong Kong story.
abstract: A clinical pathway provides a scheduled, objective protocol for the multi-disciplinary, evidence-based management of patients with a specific condition or undergoing a specific procedure. In implementing a clinical pathway for the care of patients receiving video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) in Hong Kong, many insights were gained into what makes a clinical pathway work: meticulous preparation and team-building are keys to success; the pathway must be constantly reviewed and revisions made in response to evolving clinical need; and data collection is a key element to allow auditing and clinical research. If these can be achieved, a clinical pathway delivers not only measurable improvements in patient outcomes, but also fundamentally complements clinical advances such as VATS. This article narrates the story of how the clinical pathway for VATS in Hong Kong was created and evolved, highlighting how the above lessons were learned.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Surgery, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China ; 2 Department of Thoracic Surgery, The University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen 518053, China ; 3 Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tongji University, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Shanghai 200433, China ; 4 Cardiothoracic Surgery Unit, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Alan D L
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Sihoe
keywords: Clinical pathway; enhanced recovery; fast track; peri-operative; post-operative; video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS)/thoracoscopic surgery