  Clinical Pathways (CP) are medical management plans developed to standardize
patient treatment activities, optimize resource usage, reduce expenses, and
improve the quality of healthcare services. Most CPs currently in use are
paper-based documents (i.e., not computerized). CP computerization has been an
active research topic since the inception of CP use in hospitals. This
literature review research aims to examine studies that focused on CP
computerization and offers recommendations for future research in this
important research area. Some critical research suggestions include
centralizing computerized CPs in Healthcare Information Systems (HIS), CP term
standardization using international medical terminology systems, developing a
global CP-specific digital coding system, creating a unified CP meta-ontology,
developing independent Clinical Pathway Management Systems (CPMS), and
supporting CPMSs with machine learning sub-systems.
