Abstract
Objective: To identify the current situation and further research
direction of clinical pathway management in China. Methods: The
published time, research institutions, key words of the literatures
obtained from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP and
Wanfang databases were analyzed by using Citespace software. Results:
The clinical pathway research in China has been carried out for 20
years, with delivering about447.3 articles per year. The number of
articles reached its peak in 2012, and then decreased year by year. The
research field focuses on nursing clinical pathway, health education and
clinical pathway teaching, and the research institutions are scattered
and lack of inter-agency cooperation. Conclusions: At present, the
clinical pathway research in China is insufficient incorporation with
medical quality control and performance evaluation, the adjustment of
medical service expenses, the reform of payment mode, and the
information construction of medical institutions. Practice Implications:
How to combine clinical pathway effectively with medical quality
control, with DRGs performance evaluation, with medical insurance
payment reform, with information construction and with hierarchical
diagnosis and treatment, is worthy of deep exploration.