[Safety improvement through implementation of clinical pathways]. 
In Japan the clinical path (or critical path) is attracting attention as a tool for the improvement of healthcare in terms of optimization of informed consent, development of a team approach in healthcare, transformation of the healthcare system into a patient-centered pattern, economizing on medical resources, etc.  As clinical pathways can contribute to the reduction of medical errors and the early detection of abnormalities, they are also very effective in promoting patient safety.  Important aspects of risk management include gathering and analyzing past incident reports and establishing countermeasures; they imply that each individual health professional, including each physician and nurse, improve their medical knowledge with regard to risk management and that health professionals improve their communication skills and share as much information as possible.  In addition, it is imperative for risk management to standardize medical care, streamline the components of healthcare, and avoid unnecessary tests and treatment measures.  Clinical pathways are remarkably useful for all of these goals.  Another important consideration is the fact that patients and their relatives can promptly identify irregularities arising from deviations from clinical path stipulations.  Clinical pathways are highly useful with regard to risk management.