West Park is a designated resource site for Ontario, and helps institutions in Ontario and other provinces implement the MDS tool. West Park is committed to investing in the implementation of all the MDS applications and in ongoing education and training. Hospital-wide use of these tools will enhance implementation and evaluation of outcomes at the resident, unit, and hospital levels as well as supporting comparative and evaluative research at West Park. The Care Path Project focuses on clients in both continuing care and rehabilitation. This group may be defined by diagnosis or by need for a specific procedure.
Care paths are outcome-focused, and designed to improve client care and increase efficiency.
They can improve quality of care by integrating leading practices with providers' knowledge and can reduce variation by streamlining processes. Care paths are developed and used by care providers, and illustrate how evidence can be used to change practice. When the client group and desired outcomes of a care process have been identified and a multidisciplinary development team assembled, the team develops a timeline and defines the events and key indicators at key points. Literature and professional or disciplinary guidelines are used to formulate an ideal care path, and chart audit compares this ideal with current practice. Finally, the team drafts and tests the rare map and the organization rolls out its implementation.