The leap to automating clinical pathways

Managing care is one of the most pressing concerns in today's healthcare environment. There are a mind-boggling number of approaches an organization can take to realize cost and quality goals. These range from case management and paper clinical pathway systems to work redesign and computerization. Often an organization's first step toward better care management is to implement some form of clinical pathway system. For most, this is a struggle that results in little success, but this is not always the case as demonstrated by Overland Park Regional Medical Center, a Columbia/HCA facility (Overland Park, KS). There the next step in success is to streamline care delivery through computerized clinical pathways.