Three years' experience of collaborative care pathways on a maxillofacial ward

Collaborative care pathways (CCPs) provide a framework for multidisciplinar y patient care. They provide guidelines and a mechanism for audit, and were first introduced at the Regional Unit, Walton Hospital, Liverpool, in Nove mber 1994. They have been designed for many surgical groups. Between August 1996 and 31 July 1997, 955 patients were admitted on to the nine establish ed pathways: fractured mandible (n=213), fractured zygoma (n=117), minor or al surgery (n=244), abscess (n=18), examination under anaesthesia (n=73), n asal surgery (n=73), osteotomy (n=80), salivary (n=63), and temporomandibul ar joint (n=74). The purpose of this article is to report the introduction of CCP in a maxillofacial ward and give results from a one-year audit. CCP have proved to be an extremely useful tool and have several advantages over traditional documentation. They are more accurate, easily computerized, an d facilitate audit. They promote the development of guidelines and standard ized perioperative care, and this in turn facilitates training and raises s tandards of care.