Today clinical pathways are established as a basis for the operational and organizational structure of surgical, interventional and conservative treatment in many hospitals. In our study we evaluate the establishment and systematic applicability of IT-based clinical pathways in a tertiary care facility.
We evaluate and compare the treatment of coxarthrosis with hip joint endoprosthesis either following an IT-based clinical pathway or without clinical pathway.
All patients who had received a hip joint endoprosthesis from 1 January 2006 to 31 October 2009 were included. The duration of stay is significantly longer in the group without pathway. Furthermore there was a significant increase in the documentation of wound inspection after surgery in the "pathway patients". The preoperative urinalysis was done significantly more often in the pathway group.
IT-based clinical pathways are applicable for routine use in trauma departments. For certain surgical procedures they are a suitable management device, even in a tertiary care facility. Clinical pathways lead to an improved operational structure of medical treatment and moreover to a complete and continuous documentation through the electronic file.