Clinical Pathway Development Time Line
May 1, 1999
Clinical Pathway Development Time Line
1969: Buchan and Luttrell describe clinical pathways in their article about open-heart surgery and emergency tracheostomy procedures.1
1988: New England Medical Center Hospitals write about their experience in developing comprehensive clinical paths that were used to describe the plan of care for a patient during the entire hospitalization.2
1993: Survey of 328 hospitals conducted by the American Hospital Association reveals that 42% had implemented clinical paths.3
1995: Survey of 187 hospitals conducted by Decision Support Systems in Charlotte, NC, reveals that 81% had implemented clinical paths.4
References
1. Buchan JR, Luttrell WB. The critical path method of relocating departments. Hospitals 1969; 43:79-82.
2. Zander K. Nursing case management: Strategic management of cost and quality outcomes. J Nurs Adm 1988; 18:23-30.
3. Lumsdon K, Haglund M. Mapping care. Hosp Health Netw 1993; 67:34-40.
4. Anderson Consulting. Clinical Path Survey: A Study of Clinical Path Trends in Healthcare. Charlotte, NC: Decision Support Systems; 1995.