Introduction to clinical pathways.

A clinical pathway is a comprehensive method of planning, delivering, and monitoring patient care. As efforts continue to streamline the delivery of services at all levels of care and settings, it is essential that quality management and utilization management professionals respond in a proactive manner to facilitate quality outcomes while decreasing cost and increasing efficiency. The use of clinical pathways, as one part of a facility's or an organization's total quality management program, may be the answer to this challenge.