The organization of 22 care pathways in the Western Norway Regional Health Authority.

Background: The organization of health care in Norway poses a number of challenges in terms of assessment, treatment and follow-up. The introduction of care pathways in oncology has increased the focus on systematic improvement of care processes as a means of quality improvement. However, it is unclear how well the existing care processes are currently organized. Objective: To assess health care personnel's perceptions of the organization of care processes in the specialist health service in Norway. Method: The Care Process Self-Evaluation Tool (CPSET) assesses five dimensions of the organization of care processes: Patient-focused organization, Coordination of the care process, Communication with patients and family, Collaboration with primary care, and Monitoring and follow-up of the care process. Employees (N = 503) in 27 selected care processes in the Western Norway Regional Health Authority (Helse Vest) were asked to complete the CPSET. Analyses were based on responses from 239 employees in 22 valid care processes (48 per cent response rate). Results: The CPSET average score of 6.9 (standard deviation 1.80) in the sample was higher than comparable international figures. However, Norwegian employees considered the follow-up of the care process and the collaboration with primary care to be poorer than other dimensions of care organization. Care processes with a written clinical procedure were better organized than processes without such standardization. Conclusion: The specialist health service should improve the systematic follow-up of care pathways as well as the collaboration with primary care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]