Nutrition support clinical pathways

With growing concerns over cost containment, hospitals are using clinical pathways to standardize health care and reduce costs. Clinical pathways designate the actions and services that patients should receive at specified time intervals throughout the hospital stay. Although most clinical pathways have been created for specific diseases or diagnoses, the nutrition support team at Tallahassee Memorial Regional Medical Center has developed clinical pathways for enteral and parenteral therapies. These pathways allow the team to track patient outcomes related to nutrition and to document variances when provisions fall outside the pathways. Variances are tallied on a quarterly basis and reported to the hospital Nutrition Support Committee. As data collection continues, trends emerge that guide the team to take appropriate corrective actions. Patient care is continuosly improved by incorporating these corrective actions into the pathways.