Evaluation of a generic integrated care pathway for rehabilitation

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine if a process‑oriented integrated care pathway (ICP) was effective in a rehabilitation setting and whether the improvement gained through the rehabilitation process was sustained post discharge.

Design: This study incorporated a quantitative analysis of the Barthel Index Score (BIS) for a retrospective convenience sample of patients who had been discharged from the rehabilitation unit. A longitudinal examination of this sample group was conducted and BIS results were compared between admission, upon discharge, and three months post discharge.

Setting: The study was conducted at a rehabilitation unit (the Unit) at a medium‑sized general hospital in a rural centre northwest of Melbourne, Victoria

Subjects: The sample consisted of a convenience sample of thirty participants who were discharged from the Unit between December 2003 and January 2004. The mean age of participants was 75 years.

Main outcome measures: Health outcomes and improvements in functional and dependency status were determined using the Barthel Index Score (BIS).

Results: The introduction of the generic clinical pathway yielded positive results with the sample group maintaining functional status and independence post discharge.

Conclusions: Although this study is limited by sample size and homogeneity of sample; nevertheless it demonstrates that process‑oriented integrated care pathways may be useful to effectively manage rehabilitation and aged‑care units that contain patients with a wide range of complex presentations and diagnosis‑related groups.