An Electronic Health Record-Based Automated Self-Rescheduling Tool to Improve Patient Access: Retrospective Cohort...

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Healthcare Management
• Patient Access

Background:

• Long appointment wait times and care access difficulties are prevalent in large health centers.
• Patient no-shows and last-minute cancellations create unfilled clinical slots, worsening care delays.
• Health systems utilize tools to minimize no-shows and fill appointment gaps.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate an electronic health record (EHR)-based self-scheduling tool, Fast Pass.
• To assess Fast Pass's impact on filling cancelled appointment slots and improving patient access.
• To determine the tool's effect on clinical revenue from previously unscheduled visits.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study analyzing Fast Pass offers and scheduling data from an EHR (June 2022 - March 2023).
• Outcomes analyzed included offer acceptance, appointment completion, and revenue generated.
• Stratification by appointment specialty and calculation of patient service revenue based on payer mix.

Main Results:

• 60,660 Fast Pass offers resulted in 5,399 completed visits, filling 21,978 available slots.
• Patients experienced a median 14-day earlier appointment, and the tool generated an estimated $3 million in professional fees.
• Older patients, non-White ethnicities, and non-English speakers were less likely to accept Fast Pass offers.

Conclusions:

• EHR-based self-scheduling tools can improve patient access and capture revenue by filling unfilled appointment slots.
• Demographic disparities in offer acceptance highlight the potential for digital tools to exacerbate health access inequities.
• Strategies are needed to ensure equitable access and utilization of such patient-facing technologies.