Care Pathways Database Added to NELH

A list of over 2,000 care pathways, in use or under development in over 200 NHS organisations, has been added to the National electronic Library for Health (NeLH) in a new care pathways database.

The new database is intended to help cut down on duplication of effort, improve collaboration and speed up the implementation of care pathways, a key element in the development of electronic patient records and implementation of National Service Frameworks.

This new information resource provides access to a database of Pathways and the organisations creating and using them.

The new resource has been created from a recent survey conducted by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), with additional contributions by the National Pathways Association.

“The database has revealed significant overlap of work,” said Ross Scrivener, RCN’s Head of Information and Project Manager for the survey. "For instance there are fifty local pathways for knee replacement."

Care pathways have emerged in the past decade as an important technique for continuous quality improvement in healthcare, and are now increasingly being seen as a key NHS resource for implementing National Service Frameworks and the modernisation objectives of the NHS Plan.

Full text searching of all documents is available and information can be searched via various criteria including organisation, topic or titles.

New material (including full-text pathways documentation) will be added to the database over the coming months, together with a range of accompanying resources on methodology, best practice and know-how.

Colin Gordon, NeLH Director of Guidelines, said the new database greatly extends knowledge about current NHS care pathways activity. "The level of grassroots interest is already confirming that this will be a valuable service to practitioners and to those considering or planning local care pathways initiatives.”