Analysis and optimization of clinical pathway of a cancer patient in a university hospital

Abstract

A clinical pathway can be defined as a macro process that includes the complete management of a health problem. It could be considered the equivalent of diagnostic and therapeutic pathway, but the word clinical includes also the person assistance to self-care and the psychological and social support. Managing and organizing a clinical pathway in order to exploit as efficiently as possible all available resources could be the aim of all hospitals. The simulation is a modern approach that allows understanding, with a logical sequence, the entire process, in order to identify, analyze and underline characteristics, advantages and problems of the specific context. Nevertheless, simulation is not effective if the process analysis and the mathematical model are overlooked. The purpose of this work is to characterize clinical pathways, and try to understand and optimize weak points. The various phases of the work allowed conducting a precise, clear and detailed analysis, in order to develop a more efficient process. Finally, the simulation model is able to consider all possible variables that could modify the efficiency of the process and also confirms that the reorganization proposal could be effective and sustainable before a real implementation.