Effects of Clinical Pathways on Hospital Stay and Costs
Author Information
Author(s): Thomas Rotter, Joachim Kugler, Rainer Koch, Holger Gothe, Sabine Twork, Jeroen M van Oostrum, Ewout W Steyerberg
Primary Institution: Dresden Medical School, University of Dresden
Hypothesis
Does the use of clinical pathways affect length of stay, hospital costs, and patient outcomes?
Conclusion
Clinical pathways can reduce length of stay and costs, particularly for invasive procedures, but the evidence is not conclusive for all strategies.
Supporting Evidence
- 17 trials met inclusion criteria, representing 4,070 patients.
- 12 out of 16 studies reported significant shortening of length of stay.
- Four out of six studies showed significantly lower costs for the pathway group.
- Clinical pathways for invasive procedures showed a stronger reduction in length of stay.
Takeaway
Using clinical pathways can help patients spend less time in the hospital and save money, especially for surgeries.
Methodology
Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and controlled clinical trials.
Potential Biases
Moderate risk of bias due to poor reporting and methodological weaknesses in included studies.
Limitations
The evidence base is not conclusive due to the small number of studies and variability in study designs.
Participant Demographics
Included hospitalized children and adults of all ages.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Confidence Interval
95% CI: 0.57 to 2.08
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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