Hospital care pathway coordinators play a central role in mitigating bottlenecks and eliminating non-value-added activities across oncology services, according to a multiple case study conducted in Norway. The investigation demonstrates that while structured care pathway practices offer measurable potential to enhance cross-departmental integration and support patient flow, their real-world efficacy depends substantially on local operationalization and institutional context.

The underlying research addresses an acute operational challenge facing modern healthcare systems, where rising patient demand and persistent resource limitations have prompted widespread implementation of care pathways. Although these structured clinical management tools are deployed across hospitals to improve care quality and operational efficiency, the specific organizational mechanisms by which individual pathway practices affect patient flow have previously remained underexplored in empirical literature.

To evaluate these dynamics, researchers examined the implementation of care pathways within Norwegian hospitals using a comparative multiple case study framework. The empirical investigation focused directly on two major clinical streams—colorectal cancer care pathways and prostate cancer care pathways—systematically analyzed across three separate hospital facilities to capture variations in execution and setting.

Data collection for the inquiry relied on thirty-five semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted across the participating hospital sites. Through these detailed engagements, the study examined how fifteen distinct care pathway practices documented in existing healthcare literature foster cross-departmental integration and influence the progression of patients through diagnostic and treatment phases.

The findings emphasize that designated care pathway coordinators serve as vital operational links by actively resolving flow bottlenecks and cutting unproductive delays. Nonetheless, significant operational barriers persist within hospital environments, most notably acute challenges in capturing and leveraging real-time data as well as difficulty expanding planning horizons beyond immediate day-to-day operational schedules.

In contributing to the theoretical foundation of healthcare patient flow, the authors conclude that care pathway practices stimulate cross-department integration across three specific dimensions: organizational coordination, planning and control, and information flow. To build on these observations, the researchers highlight the necessity of future investigations examining broader multi-hospital cohorts and exploring additional operational practices applied in specialized care pathways.

Subject of Research: Impact of care pathway practices on hospital patient flow in Norway

Article Title: Exploring the integrative effect of care pathway practices and their impact on patient flow in Norway: a multiple case study

Article References: Vallandingham, L. R., de Boer, L., Dreyer, H. C., Riis, Ø., & Stensvold, A. (2026). Exploring the integrative effect of care pathway practices and their impact on patient flow in Norway: a multiple case study. BMC Health Services Research. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-026-16044-2

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12913-026-16044-2

Keywords: care pathways, patient flow, care pathway coordinators, Norwegian hospitals, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, cross-department integration, hospital bottlenecks, non-value-added activities, health services research, multiple case study, semi-structured interviews, operational planning, real-time data, information flow, planning and control, organizational integration, healthcare resource constraints