hip fracture pathway
A structured, evidence-based clinical protocol governing the acute management and rehabilitation of patients who have sustained a proximal femoral fracture, typically deployed across orthopaedic and geriatric services.
Full Definition
The hip fracture pathway is a coordinated clinical care programme that outlines the sequence and timing of interventions—from emergency admission through surgical repair to geriatric rehabilitation—for patients with proximal femoral fractures. It commonly includes targets for time-to-surgery, orthogeriatric review, early mobilisation, nutritional support, cognitive assessment, and secondary prevention of osteoporosis. Editors working on hip fracture pathway documents should be aware that 'hip fracture' is the preferred term over 'fractured hip' in current clinical writing conventions. The related audit data collection tool in the UK is the National Hip Fracture Database (NHFD) report.
Usage
Usage note: Use 'hip fracture', not 'fractured hip' or 'broken hip', in formal clinical documentation. Hyphenate when used as an attributive modifier: 'hip-fracture-pathway audit'.
In Context
- "The hospital's hip fracture pathway mandated orthogeriatric review within 36 hours of admission for all patients over 60." — Clinical governance policy document
- "Adherence to the hip fracture pathway was measured against NHFD benchmarks in the annual audit report." — Quality improvement audit report