{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T06:19:35Z","timestamp":1787552375077,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":16,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787529600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Health Serv."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Health systems face increasing oncology demand amid workforce constraints and rising care complexity. Outpatient cancer volumes in the United States are projected to grow nearly 18% over the next decade, driven by earlier diagnoses, evolving screening guidelines, and continued site-of-care shifts \u2014 while inpatient volumes remain essentially flat but grow in case mix complexity. Many organizations attempt to improve access through isolated interventions \u2014 navigation programs, clinic expansion, or scheduling redesign \u2014 yet delays in treatment initiation and operational inefficiencies persist.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This article presents a system-level operational framework for managing oncology access as a continuous patient flow problem rather than a series of disconnected scheduling events.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Approach<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This perspective is informed by iterative operational experience within a large academic oncology program and synthesizes challenges observed across referral intake, diagnostics, clinic scheduling, and treatment delivery. The framework integrates existing literature on patient flow, care coordination, and access management to organize access into three interdependent domains: entry, throughput, and transition.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Key findings<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Applying this framework highlights fragmentation across traditional organizational boundaries and supports the establishment of unified operational ownership for access. Aligning performance measurement with patient progression \u2014 rather than isolated scheduling metrics \u2014 enables more consistent identification of bottlenecks and improved coordination across multidisciplinary teams.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Managing oncology access as an integrated patient flow system provides a scalable and practical approach for improving timeliness and operational efficiency. The framework does not require capital expenditure as a prerequisite; however, operational investment in Electronic Health Record (EHR) configuration, data infrastructure, and dedicated coordination staffing is typically required and should be planned accordingly. The framework is designed to optimize existing resources first and to inform capital decisions with operational evidence.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/frhs.2026.1859412","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T05:31:15Z","timestamp":1787549475000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Operationalizing patient flow in high-complexity service lines: a health system perspective using oncology care"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"6","author":[{"given":"Robert","family":"Figlin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Cedars-Sinai Medical Center","place":["Los Angeles, CA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kate","family":"O\u2019Shaughnessy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Networks and Leadership Solutions, Vizient Inc","place":["Irving, TX, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Setu","family":"Shah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Strategy Intelligence, Vizient Inc","place":["Irving, TX, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chad","family":"Giese","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Strategy Intelligence, Vizient Inc","place":["Irving, TX, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jamie","family":"Bachman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Johns Hopkins Medicine Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center","place":["Baltimore, MD, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Matthew","family":"Bednar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Moffitt Cancer Center","place":["Tampa, FL, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jennifer","family":"Scalise","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Northwestern Medicine","place":["Chicago, IL, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aleksandar","family":"Zafirovski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Northwestern Medicine","place":["Chicago, IL, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","volume-title":"Service Line Insights: Cancer. 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