UW Medicine develops clinical care pathways to document standard management and treatment of specific patient populations across their continuum of care. To ensure all aspects of the patient’s care are in coordination, a multi-disciplinary team works together to create the pathway document as well as a supplemental caremap to be used in patient and family education.
Pathways are intended only as a guide for practitioners. Pathways should be adapted to each specific patient based on practitioners’ professional judgment and their consideration of the unique circumstances and needs of each patient and their family. Each healthcare organization should consider their individual practices and processes for best outcomes.