Improving Patient Access In Radiation Oncology From Referral To Consult.

122 Background: To increase patient access, Oregon Health & Science University set an institution-wide metric for ambulatory clinics to contact the patient within a specified time frame. For our study, we utilized targets of patient contact within three days from the date of referral and of scheduling and resolving referrals within six days. Since the reports for these metrics did not provide detailed reasons for the consult delays, we were unable to assess if these delays were due to pending patient action, provider recommendations, providers’ overbooked schedules, and/or an inefficient intake process. Methods: We targeted two providers’ schedules with the highest consult-to-treatment turnover and determined that 45% of consult delays were due to intake processing. The Department implemented two PDSA cycles: internal metrics were set for 97% of the patients to be contacted within three days and for 100% within six days; and a standardized workflow for the providers’ patient list was provided. Results: After the first PDSA cycle, patient contact within three days declined from 80% to 62% and within six days from 57% to 45%. However, the percent of patients scheduled within six days increased from 61% to 64%. After the second PDSA cycle, patient contact within three days increased to 70% and within six days to 68%. About 76% of referrals were scheduled within those six days. Conclusions: Although patient contact within three days declined from the baseline data for both PDSA cycles, we found that there was a gradual increase in patients being contacted and scheduled within six days, especially after the second PDSA cycle. Despite the progress observed, we did not hit our internal metrics and intend to launch an automated patient list to further improve intake processing.[Table: see text]