The importance of clinical pathways and protocols in pediatric nephrology.

Modern clinical practice is increasingly delivered by teams of individuals working within an environment of rising complexity and daunting patient care loads. Clinical pathways, protocols and checklists offer a way to assure coordination, efficiency, quality and safety in this chaotic environment. In this review, we discuss some of the principal characteristics of these clinical tools, some of the challenges involved with introducing them into clinical practice and the evidence that they can positively affect patient and system outcomes. We believe pediatric nephrology, as a discipline, is ready for the widespread introduction of these important quality tools.