Computerization of Clinical Pathways: A Literature Review and Directions for Future Research

TL;DR

This paper reviews existing research on the digitization of Clinical Pathways, highlighting current challenges and proposing future directions such as standardization, integration, and machine learning support to enhance healthcare management.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of CP computerization research and offers specific recommendations for advancing the field through standardization and technological integration.

Findings

Most CPs are still paper-based.

Centralization and standardization are key challenges.

Future research should focus on integration and machine learning.

Abstract

Clinical Pathways (CP) are medical management plans developed to standardize patient treatment activities, optimize resource usage, reduce expenses, and improve the quality of healthcare services. Most CPs currently in use are paper-based documents (i.e., not computerized). CP computerization has been an active research topic since the inception of CP use in hospitals. This literature review research aims to examine studies that focused on CP computerization and offers recommendations for future research in this important research area. Some critical research suggestions include centralizing computerized CPs in Healthcare Information Systems (HIS), CP term standardization using international medical terminology systems, developing a global CP-specific digital coding system, creating a unified CP meta-ontology, developing independent Clinical Pathway Management Systems (CPMS), and supporting CPMSs with machine learning sub-systems.