Tools for building a successful orthopaedic pathway.

In this arena of ever-changing health care, critical pathways have been identified as a tool to analyze cost as well as improve patient care and resource utilization. The Orthopaedic Department of Allegheny General Hospital was one of the first departments to begin the process of developing critical pathways with DRG #209, Total Joint Replacements. This article explains how the multidisciplinary team members used the Continuous Quality Improvement process through the use of various questionnaires, tools, and tracking documents in identifying ways to improve customer services.