Reducing time toxicity: Impact of a fast-track infusion pathway on overall wait-times and patient satisfaction at a large safety-net health system.
Authors: Cobb Robyn , Villalpando Lauren , Omorodion Ehigie Garvey , Okpara Charles , Jones Amy Little , Kainthla Radhika , Anderson Bryana , Curkovic Bobbie Jean , Dickerson Umber , Kirk Caroline , Mohamed Ashraf , Hodges Mary P , Semlow Andrea R. , Sadeghi Navid 
Published: October 2023

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Background: Time toxicity is an emerging concept focusing on the impact of cancer care beyond traditionally measured outcomes: the time spent towards receiving care. Although the inherent complexity of cancer care can pose a challenge to improve time toxicity, addressing system and workflow inefficiencies through process improvement is an effective mitigation strategy. Here we present the impact of a fast-track infusion pathway on the wait-times and patient satisfaction at a large safety-net system. Methods: Parkland Health (PH) is the safety-net system for Dallas County, TX. The PH oncology infusion center supports cancer disciplines and other subspecialties. Factors such as timely patient arrivals, preference for coupled visits and same-day lab draws, and heterogeneity of treatments (medicine specialties vs. oncology) significantly impact wait times. In July 2022, a multidisciplinary team was formed to reduce wait times at the infusion center, including members who had previously participated in the ASCO Quality Training Program (QTP). This report is focused on developing a fast-track pathway for patients with injections or <30-minute infusions. Patients with coupled appointments and same-day lab draws were eligible for fast-track. Wait times were calculated from the time patients were checked in at the front desk to the first medication administered. A dedicated team (RN and MA) and separate waiting areas/infusion bays were designated for fast-track patients. Fast-track patients were surveyed for satisfaction. Results: Baseline infusion volume for the 3 months prior to fast-track implementation was 106 patients per day with average wait time of 167 minutes. In the seven-month period after fast-track implementation, average daily fast-track and main infusion center combined volume was 115. The first PDSA cycle was focused on improving workflows and communication with pharmacy. In the second PDSA cycle, the fast-track infusions were moved to another area to infusion chairs to better patient flow. In May 2023, average volumes and wait times for fast-track and main infusion were 28/80 minutes and 87/107 minutes, respectively. This represents a 40% decrease in wait time for fast-track and 36% for main infusion. In our survey, 89% of fast-track patients reported their wait time to be shorter and 92% rated their experience good or excellent. Conclusions: Implementing and optimizing a separate process for short treatments reduced the wait times for both the short infusions (fast-track) as well as long infusions (main infusion) without a need for additional staff, infusion chairs, or space. The observed decrease in main infusion wait-time is likely the result of decongestion of their process by moving some of the volume to fast-track. We hope to further decrease our wait-times through additional PDSA cycles and leveraging process improvement methodology.