The effects of clinical pathways on professional practice, patient outcomes, length of stay, and hospital costs: Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis

Rotter, Thomas, Kinsman, Leigh, James, Erica, Machotta, Andreas, Willis, Jon, Snow, Pamela and Kugler, Joachim (2012) The effects of clinical pathways on professional practice, patient outcomes, length of stay, and hospital costs: Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis. Evaluation and the Health Professions, 35 1: 3-27.


Author Rotter, Thomas
Kinsman, Leigh
James, Erica
Machotta, Andreas
Willis, Jon
Snow, Pamela
Kugler, Joachim
Title The effects of clinical pathways on professional practice, patient outcomes, length of stay, and hospital costs: Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis
Journal name Evaluation and the Health Professions  (ERA 2012 Listed)    (ERA 2010 Rank C)   Check publisher's open access policy
Publication date 2012-03
Sub-type Article
DOI 10.1177/0163278711407313
Volume number 35
Issue number 1
ISSN 0163-2787; 1552-3918
Start page 3
End page 27
Total pages 25
Place of publication Thousand Oaks, CA, United States
Publisher Sage Publications
Collection year 2013
Language eng
Abstract This paper is a summary version of the previously published Cochrane review. It may increase the reach of the topic to health researchers and practitioners and encourage further discussion. The systematic review aims to summarize the evidence and assess the effect of clinical pathways on professional practice, patient outcomes, length of hospital stay, and hospital costs. The authors searched the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness, the Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and bibliographic databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, NHS EED, and Global Health. Twenty-seven studies considering a total of 11,398 participants were included for analysis. The main results were a reduction in in-hospital complications (odds ratio 0.58: 95% CI [0.36, 0.94] and improved documentation (odds ratio 11.95: 95% CI [4.72, 30.30]) associated with clinical pathways. Considerable variation in study design and settings prevented statistical pooling of results for length of stay (LOS) and hospital costs. The authors concluded that clinical pathways are associated with reduced in-hospital complications and improved documentation.
Keyword Clinical pathways
Cochrane systematic review
Meta analysis
Patient outcomes
Q-Index Code C1
Q-Index Status Confirmed Code
Institutional Status Non-UQ

Document type: Journal Article
Sub-type: Article
Collections: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit Publications
Non HERDC
 
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Created: Thu, 06 Dec 2012, 12:29:53 EST by Jon Willis on behalf of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit