A SCHEDULING PILOT TO COORDINATE VISITS IN A RURAL COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY CANCER CENTER.
Significance & Background: Coordinating infusion and oncology clinic appointments in a rural area is a complex challenge due to travel distance and transportation barriers. Collaborative coordination can reduce reschedules, cancellations, and subsequent treatment delays. Purpose: The purpose of chai...
| Publicado en: | Oncology Nursing Forum Vol. 53; no. 2; pp. 346 - 348 |
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| Autores principales: | , |
| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Oncology Nursing Society
Mar2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=194211703&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 194211703 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 0190535X 4F0 jtl: Oncology Nursing Forum issn: 0190535X maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Mar2026 vid: 53 iid: 2 pid: 12496 pub: Oncology Nursing Society place: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania artinfo: ui: 194211703 10.1188/26.ONF.e26535271 194211703 ppf: 346 ppct: 2 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P tig: atl: A SCHEDULING PILOT TO COORDINATE VISITS IN A RURAL COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY CANCER CENTER. aug: au: Williams, Meredith Richards, Korey affil: MPH, RN, OCN, WVUM United Hospital Center, Bridgeport, WV sug: ab: Significance & Background: Coordinating infusion and oncology clinic appointments in a rural area is a complex challenge due to travel distance and transportation barriers. Collaborative coordination can reduce reschedules, cancellations, and subsequent treatment delays. Purpose: The purpose of chairside scheduling is to coordinate future infusion and clinic visits with an experienced scheduler while the patient is receiving their infusion. This approach allows the patient and caregiver to actively participate in the scheduling process to arrange transportation and reduces potential for rescheduling or cancellations. 2024 baseline data demonstrated a 7.92% Patient Cancellation Rate, a 7.68% No Show Rate, and 73.33% Chair Utilization. Interventions: When a patient arrives to their infusion chair, a centralized scheduler presents with a Workstation on Wheels (WOW). Utilizing scheduling templates and Solutions View feature in Epic EMR, the scheduler proposes a future appointment as directed in the disposition note and treatment plan. If the patient accepts the proposed appointments, a printed schedule is provided. If the patient does not accept the proposed appointment, an alternative option is presented. Patient preferences are taken into consideration but only within the constraints of the scheduling templates. When a consensus has been reached, a printed schedule is provided. Results: Anecdotal feedback received from patients and the centralized scheduler has been overwhelmingly positive. A scheduler well-versed in treatment plans can utilize Epic functionality and provider templating to coordinate appointment times. The patient and caregiver can voice potential barriers to upcoming appointments prior to finalizing the next visit. Initial comparison data demonstrates an increase in Patient Cancellation (9.37% YTD), a nominal increase in No Show Rate (7.90% YTD), and an increase in chair utilization (78.28% YTD). Discussion: While initial data is marginal, a continued effort is necessary to determine the overall outcome of this innovative scheduling strategy. This approach is recommended for rural sites, those who utilize separate teams for clinic scheduling and infusion scheduling, and/or sites that have seen a rise in rescheduling. Identifying a qualified, competent centralized scheduler is essential to the success of this scheduling method. A clinical background is not required but familiarity with treatment plans (length of infusions, injection versus infusion, pre-medications) is crucial. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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