Care pathways production and review checklist: Results from an HTA evaluation

Abstract

Introduction. The study aims to assess the implications of using a specific checklist in the production and review of care pathways. Care pathways have been developed to plan and standardize clinical practice, although the way they are designed remains unclear. Methods. This study was implemented through a Health Technology Assessment model, assuming the hospital perspective. The checklist consists of 7 different domains, subdivided into 14 subdomains and 77 items. Results. After a prioritization phase, our analysis reported a better performance of the checklist in terms of safety [2.00 vs-0.04; p<0.001], effectiveness [1.33 vs 0.00; p<0.001], social and ethical impact [1.15 vs 0.33; p<0.001], and legal perception from healthcare professionals [1.23 vs 0.25; p<0.001]. The Cost-Effectiveness Analysis and Budget Impact Analysis showed an advantage of the checklist (5.75% annual economic saving). Conclusions. A dedicated checklist may lead to potential benefits in terms of quality of care pathwa processes.