Critical pathways strive to maintain or improve quality of care while reducing costs, and are generally designed for high-volume, high-risk or high-cost diagnoses or procedures. Obstetrically trained clinical pharmacists, due to their unique knowledge and understanding of medication use in pregnancy, can play a critical role in optimizing therapies utilized to manage preterm labor by working closely with the physician and nursing staff to devise individualized treatment plans. This report will describe a critical pathway for continuous subcutaneous terbutaline therapy, a therapy which is currently utilized to manage preterm labor, and is ideally suited to critical pathway principles.
