Hyungju Kwon1,2, Joon-Hyop Lee3, Joohyun Woo1,2, Woosung Lim1,2, Byung-In Moon1,2, Nam Sun Paik1,2. 1. Breast and Thyroid Cancer Center, Ewha Womans University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. 2. Department of Surgery, Ewha Womans University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. 3. Thyroid and Endocrine Surgery Section, Department of Surgery, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Incheon, Korea.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Clinical pathways have been proposed as a way to improve organizational efficiency and maximize patient outcomes. However, little is known as to whether a clinical pathway is effective for thyroid cancer. METHODS: The study subjects included 216 patients who were managed after clinical pathway implementation and 145 control patients. Length of stay, cost per patient, and nurses' satisfaction were compared in the 2 groups. RESULTS: Mean length of stay was 0.8 days shorter in the clinical pathway group than in the control group (2.9 vs 3.7 days; P = .023). Cost per patient was also lower in the clinical pathway than in the control group (USD $3953.00 vs USD $4636.00; P < .001). Nurses' overall satisfaction scores improved from 71.6% before to 82.5% after implementation of the clinical pathway and their job characteristics scores increased from 61.1% to 75.0%. CONCLUSION: Implementation of a clinical pathway for thyroid cancer can improve nurses' satisfaction with reduction of hospital stay and costs.
BACKGROUND: Clinical pathways have been proposed as a way to improve organizational efficiency and maximize patient outcomes. However, little is known as to whether a clinical pathway is effective for thyroid cancer. METHODS: The study subjects included 216 patients who were managed after clinical pathway implementation and 145 control patients. Length of stay, cost per patient, and nurses' satisfaction were compared in the 2 groups. RESULTS: Mean length of stay was 0.8 days shorter in the clinical pathway group than in the control group (2.9 vs 3.7 days; P = .023). Cost per patient was also lower in the clinical pathway than in the control group (USD $3953.00 vs USD $4636.00; P < .001). Nurses' overall satisfaction scores improved from 71.6% before to 82.5% after implementation of the clinical pathway and their job characteristics scores increased from 61.1% to 75.0%. CONCLUSION: Implementation of a clinical pathway for thyroid cancer can improve nurses' satisfaction with reduction of hospital stay and costs.
Authors: Laura B Moroney; Elizabeth C Ward; Jennifer Helios; Jane Crombie; Clare L Burns; Claire Blake; Tracy Comans; Benjamin Chua; Lizbeth Kenny; Brett G M Hughes Journal: Support Care Cancer Date: 2019-07-27 Impact factor: 3.603