The goal of a recent study published in Pediatrics was to optimize the value equation for neonatal jaundice patients by creating a standard care pathway.

This was an inception by the Seattle Childrens Hospital, that entailed an evidence-based pathway for management of neonatal jaundice. 

The findings revealed significant improvements across multiple quality dimensions. The time to recovery decreased; efficiency was enhanced– for phototherapy; intravenous fluid orders were reduced from 80% to 44%; inpatient use was reduced – 66% of prepathway patients were admitted from the emergency department to inpatient care, compared with 50% of postpathway patients. Meanwhile, there was no increase in the readmission rate. Therefore, statistically significant cost reductions in total charges were recorded.

Thus, it was inferred that an evidence-based standard care pathway for neonatal jaundice can significantly improve multiple dimensions of value, including reductions in cost and length of stay.

Source: Pediatrics. 2018 Mar;141(3):e20161472. doi: 10.1542/peds.2016-1472.