Packard Clinical Pathways Program- A story of program building and lessons learned

August 10th, 2021

Given the constant influx of new clinical literature and evidence, it can be difficult for clinicians to provide vetted, evidence-based, and locally tailored patient care, especially in the acute setting. This can lead to variable, potentially lower-quality care. Clinical pathways are multidisciplinary plans for the clinical care of patients with a shared condition. Pathways detail recommended steps in care based on scientific evidence and locally agreed best practices, and have been shown to decrease: hospital complications, length of stay, and hospital costs. In this lecture, we describe the development and iteration of the Packard Clinical Pathways Program, discuss pitfalls and lessons learned, and highlight growth opportunities.

Whitney Chadwick

Whitney Chadwick, MD is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Hospital Medicine), Associate Chief Medical Information Officer at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, and Co-Director of the Packard Clinical Pathways Program. Her academic interests are around understanding the intersection of human behavior and complex health care systems, or more simply put, how to make ‘the right thing to do, the easy thing to do’ to optimize the quality and safety of pediatric hospital care. She completed her pediatric residency and chief residency at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford and is board-certified in clinical informatics.

Hannah Bassett

Hannah Bassett, MD is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Hospital Medicine) and Co Director of the Packard Clinical Pathways Program. Her academic work focuses on decreasing unnecessary variation in clinical care for hospitalized patients, and making it easier for clinicians to provide evidence-based, high-value care to their patients. She also researches aspects of patient affordability and financial impacts of care. She completed her pediatric residency and pediatric hospital medicine fellowship at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford.