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. 2020 May 27;17(11):3792.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17113792.

The Exponential Phase of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Central Italy: An Integrated Care Pathway

Carlo Capalbo  1   2 , Antonio Aceti  3 , Maurizio Simmaco  4 , Rita Bonfini  5 , Monica Rocco  6 , Alberto Ricci  7 , Christian Napoli  8 , Matteo Rocco  8 , Valeria Alfonsi  8 , Antonella Teggi  3 , Giovanni Battista Orsi  9 , Marina Borro  4 , Iolanda Santino  10 , Robert Preissner  11 , Paolo Marchetti  1 , Adriano Marcolongo  12 , Paolo Anibaldi  8
Affiliations

The Exponential Phase of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Central Italy: An Integrated Care Pathway

Carlo Capalbo et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) pandemic is rapidly spreading across the world, representing an unparalleled challenge for health care systems. There are differences in the estimated fatality rates, which cannot be explained easily. In Italy, the estimated case fatality rate was 12.7% in mid-April, while Germany remained at 1.8%. Moreover, it is to be noted that different areas of Italy have very different lethality rates. Due to the complexity of Covid-19 patient management, it is of paramount importance to develop a well-defined clinical workflow in order to avoid the inconsistent management of patients. The Integrated Care Pathway (ICP) represents a multidisciplinary outline of anticipated care to support patient management in the Sant'Andrea Hospital, Rome. The main objective of this pilot study was to develop a new ICP evaluated by care indicators, in order to improve the COVID-19 patient management. The suggested ICP was developed by a multi-professional team composed of different specialists and administrators already involved in clinical and management processes. After a review of current internal practices and published evidences, we identified (1) the activities performed during care delivery, (2) the responsibilities for these activities, (3) hospital structural adaptation needs and potential improvements, and (4) ICP indicators. The process map formed the basis of the final ICP document; 160 COVID-19 inpatients were considered, and the effect of the ICP implementation was evaluated over time during the exponential phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. In conclusion, a rapid adoption of ICP and regular audits of quality indicators for the management of COVID-19 patients might be important tools to improve the quality of care and outcomes.

Keywords: COVID-19; Italy; SARS-Cov-2; clinical pathway; coronavirus; pandemic; risk management.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Sant’Andrea Hospital Integrated Care Pathway (Hospital/Home). (b) Sant’Andrea Hospital Integrated Care Pathway (Hospital Care Units).
Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Sant’Andrea Hospital Integrated Care Pathway (Hospital/Home). (b) Sant’Andrea Hospital Integrated Care Pathway (Hospital Care Units).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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