Home health care. Clinical pathways and quality integration.

Though clinical pathways in home health care facilitate monitoring of patients' progress and use of resources, literature on home health care is scant. This article shows how quality integration is incorporated into pathways by developing the outcomes, with contributions from both clinical team and patient. Variances in a pathway, caused by either clinician or patient, can identify trends and problems that can be addressed by staff, either through patient education or changes in policy and procedures.