By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    improving patient experience
    6 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction Within Hospitals
    December 1, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    What Are The Health Benefits Of Having A Degree?
    March 9, 2022
    custom software development is changing healthcare
    Digital Customer Journey Mapping and its Importance for Healthcare
    July 21, 2022
    Latest News
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
    The Hidden Impact Of Stress On Your Body’s Alignment And Balance
    May 22, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    narrow-road-ahead-sign
    Narrow Networks in California?
    March 24, 2016
    Insurer Has E-Security Problem
    August 26, 2017
    What Kind of Inequality Matters to You?
    October 19, 2011
    Latest News
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
    Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
    June 25, 2025
    When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
    June 20, 2025
    Preventing Contamination In Healthcare Facilities Starts With Hygiene
    June 15, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Standardizing Patient Care with Clinical Pathways
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Hospital Administration > Standardizing Patient Care with Clinical Pathways
BusinessHospital Administration

Standardizing Patient Care with Clinical Pathways

Abby Norman
Abby Norman
Share
4 Min Read
Clinical Pathways
SHARE

Clinical PathwaysThink of clinical pathways as maps: imagine a patient coming into the emergency room with abdominal pain. That’s a pretty non-specific complaint, and it could easily send an ER doc’s mind spinning with possibilities.

Clinical PathwaysThink of clinical pathways as maps: imagine a patient coming into the emergency room with abdominal pain. That’s a pretty non-specific complaint, and it could easily send an ER doc’s mind spinning with possibilities. With this common complaint the patient’s condition could run the gamut from a mild case of indigestion to a potentially fatal acute abdomen: and it’s up to the doctor to suss out what’s causing the patient’s pain before their condition worsens.

Of course, along with that patient, a doctor in a bustling ER might also be tending to a child with a fractured arm, a teenager with a sore throat who needs a mononucleosis test and an elderly patient who’s had a fall. With so many stories to keep straight and problems to be fixed, it would be nice for physicians, nurses and allied health professionals to have a step-by-step approach, a clinical checklist, to make sure that nothing falls through the cracks, and that no patient is lost to follow-up.

That was sort of the impetus behind the development of clinical pathways. They follow an “if A then B” structure, helping to lead providers through triage, treatment and post-hospital care. Another common complaint, chest pain, can benefit greatly from clinical pathways to help providers assess the patient in a timely and effective manner. In the case of an acute condition or illness, the patient will receive intervention faster when clinical pathways are used.

More Read

Economist Highlights the Home Birth Debate
WH Critical of White Paper on Projected Employer-Sponsored Coverage under Reform
Finding Fraud in Medicare Claims
Healthcare Marketing and the Millennials
Medical Mistakes: To Err Is Human – Yes and No?

Take a look at some of the clinical pathways developed by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia: in this care map, physicians have identified the most efficient method of triaging, assessing and treating a child that presents to the emergency room with asthma. 

Each step of the care map expands to remind healthcare providers of not-to-miss steps along the way and alerts them to vulnerabilities, or signs, implying that the patient’s case may be headed toward something more acute. When reviewing protocols for triaging a child presenting with asthmatic complaints or respiratory distress, we see the following:

The care map continues throughout the assessment, treatment and follow-up plan for the child, and each step of the way the provider is lead to another step in the process. Each step moves them toward an establish goal, or measures, which hospitals use to help them either avoid penalties or earn financial incentives for meeting those metrics.

Metrics that hospitals measure, and that are supported through the use of clinical pathways, often include:

  1. Reducing ER wait times
  2. Reducing the the length of stay for patients
  3. Decrease rates of readmissions
  4. Decrease the rate of initial hospitalizations
  5. Increase follow-up
  6. Decrease rate of medication related mishaps.

By standardizing patient care, outcomes too become standardized and more predictable. The more predictable the patient outcomes, the more predictable (and controllable) the costs associated. Clinical pathways, or maps, are still evolving, but it appears that they will be great tools for hospitals that seek to wrangle costs and standardize patient care to improve their outcome measures in 2015.

Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share
By Abby Norman
My name is Abby Norman and I am a healthcare blogger. With over 10 years of experience in the medical field, I have developed a passion for helping others understand the complexities of healthcare.

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

9 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Add Years to Your Life
9 Healthcare Lifestyle Tweaks That can Add Years to Your Life
lifestyle
July 11, 2025
car accident lawsuit
Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
Policy & Law
July 6, 2025
women dental care
What Is a Smile Makeover and How Much Does It Cost?
Dental health
June 30, 2025
HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps
Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
June 25, 2025

You Might also Like

Hospital Administration

Getting Nurse Staffing Right Is Critical

March 18, 2011
doctors and nurses physician leadership skill listening
Hospital AdministrationMedical Education

Doctors and Nurses: Doctors need to Order Less, Listen More

February 29, 2012

GlobalMed Introduces Teleaudiology Station

April 6, 2012

Does Your Plastic Surgeon Take Plastic?

August 4, 2011
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?