Impact of COVID-19 on Gynecologic Oncology Wait Times: A Mystery Caller Study

Despite increasing wait times for oncologic care in the US, research has yet to examine the impact of COVID-19 on wait times to first appointments for gynecologic oncology patients. We sought to audit mean wait times, during and after the height of the pandemic, for an outpatient appointment with a gynecologic oncologist in the US.

Office phone numbers were identified from the searchable Society for Gynecologic Oncology specialist patient-facing database. Using a "mystery caller" study approach, each unique phone number was called in 2020 and 2023. The caller asked for the soonest appointment available for her mother, who was recently found to have a 10 cm pelvic mass. The date of the soonest appointment and physician and office demographics were collected.

A total of 222 gynecologic oncology practices were called across 45 states and the District of Columbia. There was no difference in wait time post-COVID-19, highlighting an undescribed resilience in the face of unprecedented healthcare system stress. However, we also identified three major barriers to appointment scheduling including incorrect contact information in patient-facing databases, unanswered phones, and mandatory physician referrals prior to appointment scheduling.

Understanding factors influencing appointment wait times is essential to mitigating harm in oncologic care. Ours is the first nationwide audit of COVID-19's impact on barriers to gynecologic oncology care. While we highlight a surprising lack of increase in wait times between 2020 and 2023, we also identify actionable barriers to care such as updating public patient-facing information online.