Clinical Trial: European Quality of Care Pathways Study on Proximal Femur Fracture (EQCP-PFF)
Study Status: Terminated
Recruit Status: Unknown status
Study Type: Interventional
Official Title: The European Quality of Care Pathways Study: The Impact of a Care Pathway for Proximal Femur Fracture (PFF) : an International Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial."
Brief Summary:
Care pathways, a complex intervention to (re)organise, standardize and evaluate care processes, are used worldwide and in different kinds of settings. Although their international use, the impact is unclear. The European Quality of Care Pathways Study is the first international cluster Randomized Controlled Trial on the effect of care pathways for proximal femur fracture patients (PFF).
The hypothesis is that teams who work with care pathways for PFF patients deliver care that is more compliant to evidence based key interventions, have better patient outcomes and higher scores on team indicators than teams who do not work with care pathways.
Detailed Summary:
Healthcare is changing towards more patient focused care. The organization of the care process related to quality, efficiency and accessibility is one of the main areas of interest within the next years for clinicians, healthcare managers and policy makers. A main method to (re)organize a care process is the development and implementation of a care pathway. Care pathways, also known as clinical pathways or critical pathways, are used worldwide for a variety of patient groups. The European Pathway Association (E-P-A) defines a care pathway as: "A complex intervention for the mutual decision making and organization of predictable care for a well-defined group of patients during a well defined period. Defining characteristics of pathways includes: an explicit statement of the goals and key elements of care based on evidence, best practice and patient expectations; the facilitations of the communication and coordination of roles, and sequencing the activities of the multidisciplinary care team, patients and their relatives; the documentation, monitoring, and evaluation of variances and outcomes; and the identification of relevant resources".
Some prospective studies have been performed and published on the impact of pathways on quality and efficiency of care. The European Quality of Care Pathways (EQCP)-study will involve proximal femur fracture (PFF) to evaluate pathway effectiveness. Literature shows that adherence to international guidelines with regard to inhospital management of PFF is low for both pre-operative and post-operative care. Currently, some non-randomized trials (controlled clinical trials, cohort and case-control studies) and protocols about the impact of a care pathway for inpatient management of proximal femur fracture are published. The studies are conducted between 1992 and 2004, and the methodology is often doubtful. However, the studies indic
Sponsor: European Pathway Association
Current Primary Outcome: Mortality [ Time Frame: 6 month ]
Original Primary Outcome: Same as current
Current Secondary Outcome:
- Length of stay [ Time Frame: in hospital ]
- Pain score [ Time Frame: in hospital ]
Original Secondary Outcome: Same as current
Information By: European Pathway Association
Dates:
Date Received: August 19, 2009
Date Started: May 2009
Date Completion: December 2011
Last Updated: August 19, 2009
Last Verified: August 2009
