Successful use of problem-solving methodology to reduce pharmacy chemotherapy processing time.

Objectives: The primary objectives of this study were to (1) reduce pharmacy turnaround time (TAT) without compromising safety and quality and (2) reduce compounding order overload during peak hours (8:00 AM-5:00 PM). The secondary objective was to decrease patient wait time pertinent to pharmacy services.

Setting: The setting was a hospital-based pharmacy.

Using Rapid Cycle Improvement (Plan, Do, Study, Act) to Design a Scalable Appointment Scheduling System for Complex Oncology Clinical Trials at an Academic Cancer Center.

Purpose: This study's purpose was to optimize the efficiency of and to design a scalable research scheduling team to meet the growing demands of an academic cancer center with increasing clinical trial accruals.

Methods: The Plan, Do, Study, Act improvement methodology was deployed to increase the efficiency of research scheduling, to reduce non-value-added (NVA) activities, and to reduce cycle time to meet takt time. In the Plan phase, voice-of-the-customer interviews were conducted.

Using Process Improvement Tools to Improve the Care of Patients With Neutropenic Fever in the Emergency Room.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to improve the care of patients with neutropenic fever in an academic acute care hospital's emergency room (ER).

Methods: Using the define, measure, analyze, improve, control method, a two-phase project with three critical to quality metrics (reduction in time to antibiotic administration, increase in percentage of patients with neutropenic fever identified as an oncology emergency, and increase in patients cohorted on oncology units) was completed. Phase I consisted of implementation of best practices (ie, use of neutropenic fever protocol and order set, altering ER workflow, and educating patients and staff).

Delivering Patient Value by Using Process Improvement Tools to Decrease Patient Wait Time in an Outpatient Oncology Infusion Unit.

Purpose: This study aimed to streamline workflow from arrival to premedication by decreasing patient wait time to increase value in a high-volume academic outpatient oncology infusion unit. The streamlining process involved identifying and prioritizing patients for treatment by driving out waste in patient flow.

Methods: The plan-do-check-act (PDCA) method and Lean Methodology were used in completing a project to streamline a defined subset of patient experiences within an outpatient oncology infusion unit in an academic comprehensive cancer center.

Decreasing laboratory turnaround time and patient wait time by implementing process improvement methodologies in an outpatient oncology infusion unit.

Purpose: Prolonged patient wait times in the outpatient oncology infusion unit indicated a need to streamline phlebotomy processes by using existing resources to decrease laboratory turnaround time and improve patient wait time.

Methods: Using the DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) method, a project to streamline phlebotomy processes within the outpatient oncology infusion unit in an academic Comprehensive Cancer Center known as the Comprehensive Treatment Unit (CTU) was completed. Laboratory turnaround time for patients who needed same-day lab and CTU services and wait time for all CTU patients was tracked for 9 weeks.