Efficacy of a clinical pathway for patients with thyroid cancer.

Abstract

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. 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. 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%. Implementation of a clinical pathway for thyroid cancer can improve nurses' satisfaction with reduction of hospital stay and costs.