From the Define to Control Cycle for the Improving Home Care Requests in Benevento Local Health Authority
摘要
The increase in healthcare demand due to the aging of the population represents the phenomenon to which healthcare services currently pay particular attention. To avoid the phenomenon of overcrowding in healthcare facilities, it was necessary to develop new approaches for the treatment of patients, including home care. Home care represents a method of providing healthcare services at the patient’s home, also using innovative technologies, ensuring a reduction in the burden on healthcare facilities and greater effectiveness of treatments. The study aims to compare the request of activation of this service regarding the local health authority Benevento, in south Italy, in the years 2021–22. Following the five phases of the DMAIC cycle of the Lean Six Sigma methodology, we first analyzed the demand for home care services we had in 2021, also using the indicators defined by the Ministry of Health, and then compared it statistically with the demand in 2022, after a series of improvement actions had been activated. In 2022, compared to 2021, the value obtained from the ministerial indicator reflects the situation of increase in requests for activation of the home care service, accompanied by a time reduction in the process (between registration and acceptance and acceptance and first evaluation). Future developments, through the implementation of patients’ clinical data, could concern a prediction of the share of patients who, instead of going to emergency or hospitalization facilities, are directly treated in home care to reduce healthcare crowding.