Environmentally Sustainable Care Pathways

The European Pathway Association defines a care pathway as:

‘A complex intervention for the mutual decision making and organization of care processes for a well-defined group of patients during a well-defined period’

In simple terms, care pathways systematically outline the management plan for a defined patient population from start to finish. They use evidence-based medicine to ensure standardised best clinical practice across healthcare. In doing so, this minimises variation in patient care, utilises guidelines based on up-to-date scientific research and allows for ongoing audit and review.

The efficacy of care pathways is routinely appraised, with analysis of different metrics including:

• clinical outcomes
• patient feedback
• efficiency of service provision
• utilisation of resources
• cost effectiveness

The environmental impact and associated sustainability credentials of a patient care pathway are not yet currently utilised in mainstream clinical practice as a metric of pathway success.

Discussion surrounding environmental sustainability in healthcare is still a relatively new and emerging topic. As a result, there is widespread variation in the methodology used to determine the environmental consequences associated with healthcare delivery.

This webpage and accompanying guidance documentation aim to tackle this by providing an established and tested approach to critically appraise the environmental sustainability of patient care pathways. The framework and methodology developed uses consistent and replicable steps for use across the health service. As more services and specialties engage with this process we hope to create a new evidence base for routine use in care pathway appraisal.