Critical pathways in home healthcare.

Administrators and directors of home health agencies are increasingly accountable for the productive use of resources and quality patient outcomes. However, few reliable ways exist to measure and influence these components. The author proposes the use of the critical pathway typically used in acute care case management as an efficient tool to guide home health nursing practice. The author presents the process for developing a critical pathway for congestive heart failure patients in a home health agency, as well as results of a study determining when nursing interventions were implemented.