The Impact of COVID-19 on the Healthcare Management: The Case of Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of Cardarelli Hospital
摘要
The advent of the global pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has prompted healthcare facilities around the world to implement measures to combat the pandemic phenomenon. The healthcare process, in consequence of the implementation of the planned measures, has undergone changes in performance. The objective of this study is to examine the influence of the strategies implemented by the Cardarelli hospital in Naples, Italy, on the length of stay (LOS) of patients admitted to the obstetrics and gynecology department in the years 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2020 (post-pandemic). To achieve this, we employ the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology. The evaluation of the impact of the aforementioned actions was conducted using the DMAIC cycle and a statistical software program (R). The five phases of the DMAIC cycle are: define, measure, analyze, improve, and control. The findings indicate that there is no notable discrepancy in the LOS for patients admitted to the department during the period of the pandemic. Consequently, the implementation of containment measures did not impact the operational activities of the department. The value proposition of this article lies in the application of the DMAIC cycle to examine a pivotal healthcare phenomenon with a view to deriving insights that extend beyond the domain of emergency management. In this instance, the effective management of the department was identified as a key outcome, which remained largely unaffected by the pandemic, with the exception of a reduction in the number of accesses.