They may even span a lifetime of care in such chronic conditions as multiple sclerosis or congestive heart failure. Clinical Pathways differ from practice guidelines, protocols and algorithms as they are utilised by a multidisciplinary team and have a focus on quality and coordination of care. At St Vincent's Hospital we have between 30-35 clinical pathways in use at any one time. On average 3000 patients a year have their care coordinated using clinical pathways. The clinical pathway is part of the patient's medical record.
Exception based reporting is the documentation method used in combination with the clinical pathway.