Collaborative development of a clinical pathway for congestive heart failure.

Bon Secours Hospital, a 304-bed community hospital in Grosse Pointe, MI, decided to target high-volume and high-cost DRGs for clinical process improvement. Working collaboratively with members of the medical staff, the cardiac team set out to improve outcomes by reducing the non-value-added costs and the variations in the treatment of patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). A comprehensive program of care for these patients, that included the full continuum of care, from prevention to maintenance, is being developed, using a clinical pathway to manage the acute phase of treatment.