Development of a Same Day Access Initiative in Radiation Oncology: Preliminary Findings from a Prospective Pilot

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: The timely delivery of healthcare is an important quality indicator that has been shown to correlate with outcomes for cancer patients. We present our single-institution experience with the development of a same day access scheduling initiative. Methods and Materials: From March 2021 to August 2022, all patients referred for new consultation to a tertiary care-based radiation oncology department were offered same day appointments as part of a prospective pilot initiative. The timespan of this analysis was categorized into 2 successive periods over 36 months—a 18-month pre-initiative period (September 2019 to February 2021) and another subsequent one (March 2021 to August 2022). Descriptive statistics were used to study the impact of this initiative on access-related benchmarks. Results: A total of 2890 patients were referred. Among the 2107 patients scheduled, three hundred and sixteen (15%) opted for same day appointments. Black, Latino, and Asian patients were significantly more likely to use same day access versus Caucasian patients (p=0.01). The same day access initiative increased the proportion of patients seen within 5 days from referral from 23% to 58% (p<0.001). The median time from referral to consult was 11 days (range, 0 to 149 days) prior to the implementation of the same day access initiative compared to 3 days (range, 0 to 101 days) after (p<0.001). The no-show rate was reduced from 11% to 5% with the initiative (p<0.001). Conclusions: A significant proportion of patients elected for same day appointments illustrating the high demand for expedient delivery of care. The implementation of this same day access initiative was not only feasible but enhanced operational efficiency and practice performance in the outpatient setting.