Abstract:

To study on the effect of clinical pathway (CP) on controlling pharmaceutical costs, we selected complex, chronic, non-communicable diseases, including cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, transient ischemic attack, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as diseases to implement clinical pathways at a tertiary hospital in Qingdao. We then conducted intermittent time series analysis on pharmaceutical costs. After the implementation of clinical pathway, overall pharmaceutical costs of patients with transient ischemic attack reduced significantly. The effect was not significant for cerebral hemorrhage patients. The implementation of clinical pathway has a desirable outcome on controlling pharmaceutical costs.

Key words: Clinical pathway, Pharmaceutical costs, Intermittent time series analysis method