Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Patients experience numerous transitions, including changes in clinical status, pharmacologic treatment and prophylaxis, and progression through the physical locations of their healthcare setting as they advance through a venous thromboembolism (VTE) clinical experience. This review provides an overview of these transitions and highlights how they can impact clinical care. METHODS: Major public resources (PubMed, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar) were searched using various combinations of the terms: "venous thromboembolism", "deep vein thromboses", "pulmonary embolism", "transitions in care", and "hospital protocols" to identify narrative reviews, professional guidelines, or primary manuscripts reporting protocol development strategies and/or clinical data, published in English from 2010 through January 2015. The studies included in this review were selected on the basis of extensive reading of the literature and the author's clinical expertise. RESULTS: VTE treatment and prophylaxis is a dynamic process requiring ongoing patient assessments and adjustments to therapeutic strategies as the patient progresses through various hospital and outpatient settings. Throughout these transitions in care, physicians need to be vigilant of any changes in the patient's clinical condition which may impact the patient's risk of VTE, and re-evaluate the intervention(s) employed when such changes occur. A standardized, interdisciplinary VTE clinical pathway developed for medical patients with acute VTE resulted in decreased utilization of hospital resources and healthcare costs, suggesting that further research is warranted in this area. CONCLUSION: The prevention and management of VTE can be optimized by the development and local implementation of standardized evidence-based clinical pathways.