Mapping care.

Managing clinical quality and assessing the efficacy of clinical operations are key objectives for all health care providers--but pressure is growing to do more with fewer resources. As a result, many innovators are turning to critical paths as a tool that can help them achieve those goals. Indeed, a new survey by Hospitals & Health Networks and Medicus Systems Corp. finds critical paths are taking hold in health care organizations in a big way. Of those hospital executives surveyed, 57 percent say they have a critical paths program. But the survey also uncovered a slew of names for the tools being used, and experts agree there are wide disparities in innovators' motivations, methods and achievements.