2018 Oncology Annual Report

OUTCOMES: QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

IMPROVINGWAIT TIMES IN THE INFUSION SUITE IN MEDICAL ONCOLOGY

TEAMMEMBERS: Dr. Neha Chawla, InterimMedical Director, Medical Oncology Maria Victoria Roque, BSN, RN, OCN, Clinical Manager, Medical Oncology

Josefina Ellis, BSN, RN, OCN; Kimberly Vaccaro, BSN, RN-BC; Frances Goldberg, RN, OCN; Tara Rodgers, RN, OCN; Victoria Nicolicchia, RN, OCN; Rhoda Cabrera, BSN, RN, OCN; Danielle Foell, BSN, RN; Jean Guanchez, RN, OCN; Jonathan Morgan, RN; Jennifer Pepper, RN; Michelle Moscola, RN Oncology care has evolved, shifting from the inpatient to ambulatory setting. It is important tomeet the challenges of stafng, scheduling and patient service to create a positive patient experience. Quality care centered on wait times is one of the determinants of patient satisfaction. (Matthews, et.al., 2015). For this study, wait time is defined as the point when a patient registers through the time they are led to an infusion suite. This year, the Cancer Committee identified wait times as an area for improvement in Medical Oncology. A review of 2017 wait times at the Egg Harbor Township location was conducted at the

Maria Victoria Roque, BSN, RN, OCN

beginning of 2018. Meetings were held with identified stakeholders, including front desk staff, laboratory, pharmacy and infusion nurses to outline the patient flow process. Through this review, several opportunities for refining the patient experience were identified. During the first six months of 2018, several process improvement initiatives were introduced, all designed to positively impact the patient experience. These included the use of check-in sheets at the front desk; infusion nurses completing chart prep a few days prior to a patient’s scheduled visit; and an increase in stafng to include the addition of twomedical oncologists and three practice nurses to the cancer center roster. The increased collaboration and implementation of new processes have contributed to an improvement in patient wait times. In 2017, the highest monthly wait time average was 44.5 minutes, and the average wait time for the year was 31.04 minutes. During the first six months of 2018, the monthly wait time average was 22.76 minutes. The Medical Oncology team continues to refine its patient flow process, including the introduction of a designated triage nurse, with a teamgoal tomaintain an average wait time of less than 20 minutes by the end of 2018.

AverageWait Times, EHT 2017-2018

50 45 50 35 30 25 20 15 10

2017

2018

5 0

July

May

June

April

March

August

October

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February

December

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September

Reference: Mathews, M., Ryan, D., Bulman, D. (2015). Patient-expressed perceptions of wait-time causes and wait-related satisfaction. Current Oncology, 22(2): 105-112.

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