Clinical Pathways What is a Clinical Pathway? A clinical pathway is a structured, evidence-based, multidisciplinary plan that details steps in the care of patients with a specific condition. The goal of a clinical pathway is to standardize best practice, improve patient outcomes and reduce cost. This is accomplished by decreasing unnecessary variation while promoting safe, effective, and consistent patient care. Our Program The Clinical Pathways Program at Connecticut Children’s aims to improve the quality of care our patients receive, across both ambulatory and acute care settings. We have implemented a standardized process for clinical pathway development and maintenance to ensure meaningful improvements to patient care as well as systematic continual improvement. Development of a clinical pathway includes a multidisciplinary team, which may include doctors, advanced practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, other specialists, and even patients/families. Each clinical pathway has a flow algorithm, an educational module for end-user education, associated order set(s) in the electronic medical record, and quality metrics that are evaluated regularly to measure the pathway’s effectiveness. Additionally, clinical pathways are reviewed annually and updated to ensure alignment with the most up to date evidence. Clinical Pathways Animal Bite Skin and Soft Tissue Infection Appendicitis Antenatal Risk of Coarctation of the Aorta (ARCH) Asthma Blunt Liver and Spleen Injury Brief Resolved Unexplained Event (BRUE) Brachial Plexus Palsy Management Bronchiolitis Burn Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) Infection Community-Acquired Pneumonia COVID-19 Craniosynostosis – Minimally Invasive Croup Delirium Diabetic Ketoacidosis Eating Disorder Esophageal Button Battery Management Fever & Sepsis Evaluation in the Neonate (Ages 0-28 Days) Fever & Sepsis Evaluation in the Infant (Ages 29-60 Days) Gastroenteritis and Dehydration Hemangioma Management High-Flow Nasal Cannula Outside of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) HIV Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Hyperbilirubinemia in the Neonate Kawasaki Disease Ketogenic Diet & Modified Ketogenic Diet Lead Toxicity Newborn Management of Prenatally Diagnosed Tetralogy of Fallot and Risk of Ductal Dependency Oncology Patient with Fever Ovarian Torsion Peripheral Venous Access Preseptal and Orbital Cellulitis Renal Trauma Rhabdomyolysis Sickle Cell Management of Acute Pain Crisis Sickle Cell Patient with Fever Sepsis Progression Prevention and Septic Shock Skin & Soft Tissue Infection Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders Suspected Neurosurgical Shunt Infection Suspected Neurosurgical Shunt Malfunction Suspected Nephrolithiasis Suspected Physical Abuse Tethered Cord: Post-Operative Care Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy: Perioperative Care Urinary Tract Infection Clinical Pathways Team Ilana Waynik, MD Co-Director, Clinical Pathways Program Anand Sekaran, MD Co-Director, Clinical Pathways Program Mary Saccoccio, BSN, RN Director of Metrics and Measurement Grace Hong, APRN Lead Pathway Development Specialist Jill Herring, APRN Order Set Specialist Eric Hoppa, MD Emergency Department Lead Shirley Bonazelli, BSN, RN Clinical Data Coordinator Tina Sacco, BS, RN Clinical Data Coordinator Tracy Daley, MSN, RN Clinical Data Coordinator Jenny Rickles, MPH Quality Metrics Specialist Stephanie Komkov, PhD Senior Systems Analyst Disclaimer The clinical pathways in the above links have been developed specifically for use at Connecticut Children’s and are made available publicly for informational and/or educational purposes only. The clinical pathways are not intended to be, nor are they, a substitute for individualized professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Although Connecticut Children’s makes all efforts to ensure the accuracy of the posted content, Connecticut Children’s makes no warranty of any kind as to the accuracy or completeness of the information or its fitness for use at any particular facility or in any individual case.
