Development of a Clinical Pathway for Patients with Chronic Rotator Cuff Tears

Eubank, Breda Hsiao Fon

Development of a Clinical Pathway for Patients with Chronic Rotator Cuff Tears

dc.contributor.advisor	Wiley, James Preston
dc.contributor.advisor	Lafave, Mark R.
dc.contributor.author	Eubank, Breda Hsiao Fon
dc.contributor.committeemember	Mohtadi, Nicholas G. H.
dc.contributor.committeemember	Emery, John Charles Herbert
dc.date	2019-06
dc.date.accessioned	2018-12-18T16:40:21Z
dc.date.available	2018-12-18T16:40:21Z
dc.date.issued	2018-12-17
dc.description.abstract	Clinical care pathways can be described as evidence-based best practice care that set out all of the decisions and services involved in treating a condition, are widely accepted, and are highly utilized. Clinical care pathways reduce unnecessary variations in patient care, improve quality of care, and reduce healthcare costs. Quality improvements in healthcare, however, cannot be achieved through the development of a clinical care pathway alone. In conjunction with the development of a clinical care pathway (i.e., the ideal pathway), the current pathway must be evaluated and compared to the ideal clinical care pathway in order to influence policy changes, identify and eliminate potential gaps in care, and to ensure equitable, seamless, and sustainable access to high-quality care for everyone. The purpose of this doctoral research, which comprises of a series of inter-related studies, was to execute the steps required to propose quality improvements in caring for patients presenting to the healthcare system with chronic rotator cuff tears. Specifically, the research questions examines what gaps in quality of care exist in the current system based on a comparison of the ideal and current standards of care for patients presenting to the healthcare system with chronic rotator cuff tears. Consequently, this thesis 1) reviewed the literature to provide context for chronic rotator cuff tears and to determine the need for a clinical care pathway; 2) proposed best practice care by establishing clinical consensus and patient flow algorithms for diagnosing and treating patients with rotator cuff pathology; 3) conducted further validity and reliability testing of two patient-reported outcome measures: the Rotator Cuff Quality-of-Life Index (RC-QOL) (Appendix A) and the Healthcare Access and Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (HAPSQ) (Appendix B); 4) evaluated the current quality of care for patients with chronic rotator cuff tears using the RC-QOL and the HAPSQ; 5) compared current and ideal standards of care to identify gaps in the current healthcare system; and 6) explored the business case for best practice clinical care for patients in Alberta. Findings from this research demonstrated a need for healthcare reform for patients receiving care in the current system.	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Eubank, B. H. F. (2018). Development of a Clinical Pathway for Patients with Chronic Rotator Cuff Tears (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/34985
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/109365
dc.language.iso	en	en_US
dc.publisher.faculty	Kinesiology	en_US
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary	en
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Education--Health	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Health Care Management	en_US
dc.title	Development of a Clinical Pathway for Patients with Chronic Rotator Cuff Tears	en_US
dc.type	doctoral thesis	en_US
thesis.degree.discipline	Kinesiology	en_US
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary	en_US
thesis.degree.name	Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)	en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopy	true