The impact of a clinical pathway for transurethral resection of the prostate on costs and clinical outcomes
Journal
Journal of the Formosan Medical Association
Journal Volume
97
Journal Issue
5
Pages
345-350
Date Issued
1998
Author(s)
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of implementing a clinical pathway for transurethral resection of the prostate on hospital costs and procedures, outcomes and complications. Consecutive patients who underwent transurethral resection of the prostate for benign prostate hyperplasia in our hospital before (February-August 1996) and after (October 1996-March 1997) implementation of the clinical pathway were included. Statistical analyses included Student's t-test to test the impact of the clinical pathway on resource consumption and medical care processes, and multiple linear regression to control for patient characteristics such as age, severity of disease, and comorbidity. The major findings of this study were that implementation of the clinical pathway 1) decreased resource consumption and controlled medical care expenditure; 2) influenced physicians' patterns of practice and decreased the number of procedures performed; and 3) did not affect clinical outcomes or complication rates. In conclusion, our results support the hypothesis that the clinical pathway is an effective medical management tool to contain costs, which does not adversely affect quality of care. We suggest health policy makers promote clinical pathways in more hospitals to encourage appropriate resource consumption.
Subjects
Case payment; Clinical pathway; Quality of care; Resource consumption
SDGs
Other Subjects
article; clinical pathway; disease severity; health care cost; health care quality; hospital cost; human; human tissue; male; prostate hypertrophy; transurethral resection; treatment outcome; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Critical Pathways; Health Care Costs; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Prostatectomy; Quality of Health Care; Regression Analysis; Urethra
Type
journal article