A Liaison Critical Pathway for Stroke Rehabilitation: Current Status and Features of Western District of Saitama in Japan

In Japan, division of functions among medical institutions has been promoted as a national policy and a liaison critical pathway (LCP) communitybased has been promoted for stroke treatment. We examined our 3-year experience with operation of such a LCP and its effects from the perspectives of an acute care hospital. We examined the contents of 819 LCP forms returned from the cooperation hospitals during the 3-year period and we investigated changes in activities of daily living, duration of hospital stay, outcomes and compared differences in functional outcomes among the cooperation hospitals. Based on comparison by year, no difference was observed in duration of hospital stay, functional independence measure (FIM) scores on admission and at discharge, FIM gain, the rate of discharge to home during the 3-year period, or FIM efficiency improved in the third year. Based on comparison among the hospitals, there were differences in length of stay, FIM scores on admission and at discharge, FIM gain, FIM efficiency and rate of discharge to home among the cooperation hospitals. The LCP is a valuable tool that promotes closer cooperation among medical institutions and allows them to obtain patient information easily. Reducing incomplete entries and providing feedback on variations in functional assessment results to each cooperation hospital should allow qualitative improvement of rehabilitation services to be attempted.