The Automation of Critical Path/CareMap® Systems

Abstract

Care delivery is moving beyond that defined by strict boundaries of geography, tradition, and discipline and into multidisciplinary, collaborative relationships with a focus on coordinated, patient-centered care. In fact, managed care coordinated by clinician providers represents the latest advance in care delivery. Provider-controlled managed care means that clinicians have accountability and authority for achieving both cost and quality outcomes for the patient populations they serve directly. This is illustrated by the leadership roles that nurses and physicians find themselves in as caregivers or as managers of projects that impact on such populations as cardiac surgical, orthopedic, and frail elderly.