Use of an acute spinal cord injury clinical pathway

Phased outcome clinical pathways can be useful in the management of neurotrauma patients in the acute care setting. By developing multidisciplinary plans of care that focus on patient and family outcomes and not arbitrary points in time, hospitals can provide quality care to trauma patients that is both appropriate and cost effective. In fact, this type of plan for SCIs can be expanded on and used across the health care continuum from prehospital to community reintegration. Providing collaborative quality care will result in improved outcomes for both patients and health care institutions.