The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical pathways in intensive care units - a case study with a managerial perspective

Many studies have analysed clinical pathways (CPs) from different perspectives, but to date, very limited research has investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their organisational, managerial, and financial efficiency with respect to non-COVID-19 patients. This study, focusing on a dataset including 749 patients of the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza Research Hospital (Italy) from January 2018 to December 2021, examined the CPs, as concerns hospitalisation and subsequent organisation, for non-COVID-19 patients with respiratory insufficiency in the intensive care unit (ICU). The main results indicated an increase of the average length of hospitalisation in the pandemic years (with more influence in 2020, while the average length of hospitalisation in 2021 was less than in 2019), a decrease in the number of radiological exams during the pandemic years, and an increase in the number of healthcare workers during the pandemic years. Subsequent implications about organisational, managerial, and financial changes are discussed.