Standardizing Care: Treatment Decisions
Guidelines for the best way to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) strongly recommend against the continued use of steroids for maintenance therapy. This recommendation can be found in the Choosing Wisely Canada campaign for IBD, a national voice for reducing unnecessary tests and treatments in healthcare.
Dr. Karen Kroeker, at the University of Alberta, and Dr. Remo Panaccione and Dr. Cynthia Seow, at the University of Calgary, are using clinical care pathways to ensure all Canadians with IBD receive the same care across the province and to reduce the number of individuals unnecessarily prescribed steroids.
What is a clinical care pathway?
A clinical care pathway is a plan that details the diagnosis and treatment process for individuals living with IBD. The clinical care pathway is created using recommendations from evidence published in journals or based on expert opinions.
In 2016, the team in Alberta, under the leadership of Dr. Richard Fedorak, developed a collection of clinical care pathways to give healthcare providers a complete toolkit to follow evidence-based best practices when treating individuals living with IBD.
For treatment options during an IBD flare, a clinical pathway was developed for the appropriate use of steroids. Further, a process was put in place to update the clinical care pathways so that they always reflect the current best approach to care.
All of the clinical care pathways are downloadable from the University of Alberta IBD Clinic website ibdclinic.ca. The team welcomes collaboration with other IBD centers across the nation, to help standardize IBD care in Canada. For more information, please contact the team at ibdpaths@ualberta.ca.
Support the PACE Network
Donations to Crohn’s and Colitis Canada allow the PACE network to carry on its vital work and continue to find solutions to improve IBD care.
DONATE NOW!
Contact Information
To learn more about the PACE network, please contact research...crohnsandcolitis...ca.
The PACE network is supported by Crohn’s and Colitis Canada and our funding partners: