The cancer experience is complicated for patients, caregivers, staff, and providers. It requires a practice’s teams and outside partners working collaboratively with world-class technology to care for patients with complex diseases.

OneOncology’s Practice Optimization Subject Matter Experts (SME) help practice staff use proven solutions to enhance their patients’ journey throughout their experience. From even before a patient enters a clinic to after their active treatment is complete, OneOncology’s SMEs are with our practice partners every step of the way.  

Patient Journey Point 1: Scheduling the Patient

SMEs enhance a practice’s new patient scheduling registration through a number of touch points reducing patient wait times, keeping the physicians’ schedule optimized for patient interaction, and gathering external and intake data into the EMR for the physicians’ consideration. The strategies our SMEs help practices with scheduling include:

Optimizing data collection and record retrieval from other physician offices

Providing electronic solutions for e-registration or creating workflow procedures to get the patient paperwork filled out ahead of their appointment by email

Working with new patient intake departments to complete the intake process on the phone and pre-load charts as part of the EMR, aiding with the rooming process and EMR setup – two later points in the patient’s journey

Patient Journey Point 2: Optimizing the Rooming Process

After a patient is checked in, a lot happens quickly to ensure providers have all the information they need in hand when they see a patient. The rooming process is a personal time for a patient, and our SME team has perfected strategies that make this short, yet crucial, time block better for providers and patients. Steps that optimize the rooming process increases the time a physician spends with their patient, contribute to high-quality care, and enhance the patient’s overall journey through a cancer center include:

Using time studies to bring best practice efficiencies to practice labs reduce patient wait times to see a physician or get into the treatment room

Utilizing proven processes to aid medical assistants to gather important medical, historical and personal information for the physicians to act upon and so a practice can deliver important services beyond medical care

Patient Journey Point 3: Orchestrating the Infusion Room

Nurses are the conductors of the infusion room helping patients emotionally while also medically ensuring chemotherapy is delivered safely and effectively. OneOncology’s SME team helps practice infusion room nurses by creating and sharing best practice infusion room guidelines that enhance nurses’ work to:

Educate patients so they know what will happen in the infusion room and later at home.

Access a port or IV for therapy infusion.

Check a patient’s labs so treatment can begin.

Look for abnormalities and ask appropriate questions before treatment ensues.

Double check dosing.

Ensure each therapy is delivered efficiently and patients aren’t waiting for their next infusion.

Appropriately document and chart what was accomplished.

Patient Journey Point 4: Coordinating Patient Care and Follow Up Appointments

Caring for a patient requires a lot to happen outside of the clinic, and our care coordination SME helps practices care for patients when they leave the cancer center. As soon as a patient’s appointment with their oncologist concludes, SME processes aid check out staff to optimize scheduling, so every patient leaves their visit with a care coordination plan and follow up appointment by:

Creating workflows in the EMR to ensure every patient receives a follow-up care coordination phone call to help schedule their next appointment, if it hadn’t been scheduled.

Assisting with scheduling appointments for referral care, such as with radiology.

Patient Journey Point 5: Using the EMR to Maximize Value to Physicians

Our EMR subject matter expert brings deep oncology and EMR experience to serve as an advocate, liaison, and quarterback for each practice to maximize the EMR’s functionality. As the EMR quarterback, our SME knows every aspect of how to maximize the patient’s journey by optimizing how a physician interacts with the EMR through:

Discovery, validation and partnering with the other SMEs across the care continuum are the trademarks of this unique position that serves as the practice ambassador across clinical, operational, and quality reporting functions.

Patient Journey Point 6: It’s Always About the Patient

OneOncology’s Practice Optimization Team – presently comprised of Amanda Clark, Lacey Ellis, Matt Korzeniewski, Karie Tilson, and Audrey Singleton – brings practices best-in-class resources, insights, and tailored solutions to help each and every patient through their cancer experience from before the first appointment to after the latest scans continue to show No Evidence of Disease.