The orthopaedic critical path.

Health care providers, purchasers, and insurers are struggling to manage the cost of health care while maintaining the quality of care. Alliant Health System has incorporated Total Quality Management (TQM) and the Critical Path Process throughout the corporation as a managed care strategy to deliver cost-effective quality care. Using the Critical Path Process has demonstrated a reduction in Length of Stay (LOS) and cost while maintaining quality. The success of this process depends upon an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach among health care providers in identifying practice patterns to assure appropriate and timely delivery of patient care.