Abstract:
Background: The mission of the Clinical Pathways Program is to provide easily accessible guidance for evidence-based care for every child. Facilitating access to Clinical Pathways (CPs) within our institution and to providers outside our institution is a mechanism for providing high quality education about diseases encountered in the Emergency Department.
Methods: A standardized process is utilized for Clinical Pathway development. A multidisciplinary team determines evidence-based recommendations that are integrated with expert consensus for a specific disease process. The patient population, signs and symptoms of the disease, and differential diagnoses are determined so that providers can ensure they are using the correct Clinical Pathway for the patient. An algorithm is created to illustrate a stepwise approach to evaluation and treatment, with links to additional information embedded within the algorithm. CPs are reviewed by a multidisciplinary committee of providers in the emergency department and urgent care to ensure the content and organization is optimized for that setting. A hospital-wide committee ensures that the content is valid and easy to understand. CPs are subsequently posted on the hospital intranet and externally on the internet to facilitate broad access to the information. CPs are revised when new clinical recommendations are available or every 3 years.
Results: Between January 2022-January 2024, thirty new CPs were created for the Pediatric Emergency Department (PED). CPs have been formally shared with other children’s hospitals, regional adult hospitals and the Society for Pediatric Urgent Care. PED pathways are accessed from within our institution an average of 4,800 times per month, consistently increasing to > 7000 times per month in the past 5 months. Externally facing pathways have been accessed by 46 states within the United States and 68 international regions.
Conclusion: Using a standardized process, thirty new clinical pathways have quickly been developed and disseminated, providing evidence-based recommendations for disease processes encountered in the Emergency Department. Formal sharing of CPs and dissemination through internal and external access is a mechanism for providing quality education to a broad range of medical providers.
Audience Take Away
- A standardized process can be utilized to quickly develop evidence-based clinical pathways tailored to the emergency department setting
- A review process including providers in the emergency departments and urgent cares ensures that the content and organization is optimal for those care settings. Hospital-wide review ensures the content is valid and easy to understand
- Formal sharing of clinical pathways facilitates education with pediatric and adult hospitals.
- Dissemination of clinical pathways via the intranet and internet is a mechanism for providing quality education to a broad range of medical providers
