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Efficacy of a clinical pathway for patients with thyroid cancer
Author(s) -
Kwon Hyungju,
Lee JoonHyop,
Woo Joohyun,
Lim Woosung,
Moon ByungIn,
Paik Nam Sun
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.25175
Subject(s) - clinical pathway , medicine , patient satisfaction , thyroid cancer , cancer , surgery , nursing
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.