Background: The 1990s will bring sweeping changes in managed care and capitation. Health care providers are continually searching for new ways to improve the quality of patient-care outcomes in the obese. Improving clinical care by promoting the use of processes that have been proved to yield optimal outcomes has become a powerful strategy for measuring the value of services provided. Methods: To address this cost/quality paradox, an optimal care path (OCP) was developed as a guideline for all patients undergoing gastric bypass or laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. A transdisciplinary team developed the OCP, preprinted orders, discharge home instruction sheet, and daily guidelines for patients. All patients were provided with OCPs from July 1995 to September 1997. Results: Length of stay decreased from 6.5 days to 5.4 days (16.9%); the average total charges decreased 17.6%, or $2,683; the percentage of wound infections decreased; and communication between, and collaboration of, interdisciplinary team members increased across the continuum of care. Conclusions: The study suggests that the use of OCP does not impair quality of care and can produce significant cost savings to a health care facility.
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Rouse, A.D., Tripp, B.L., Shipley, S. et al. Meeting the Challenge of Managed Care Through Clinical Pathways for Bariatric Surgery. OBES SURG 8, 530–534 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1381/096089298765554106
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1381/096089298765554106