The primary goals of the initiative were to transform patient experience and improve timeliness to care for every newly diagnosed patient.
Find the CANCER BUZZ podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Prior to 2020, patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist’s Comprehensive Cancer Center experienced high variability in the number of days it took to see a breast cancer provider. Scheduling was decentralized across the departments and rarely could multiple visits be coordinated to occur on the same day, within the same location. Addressing this issue required a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach that involved engaging the cancer center leadership across 3 treatment departments—medical, radiation, and surgical oncology—administration, physicians, advanced practice providers (APPs), patient navigation, genetic counseling, scheduling, imaging, lab, and pathology. The primary goals of the initiative were to transform patient experience and improve timeliness to care for every newly diagnosed patient.
Guests:
Hunter Hayes, MBA
Associate Principal
The Chartis Group
“Being able to get patients seen quickly; being able to retain patients for their full cancer treatment is incredibly important…competition is growing and being able to keep those patients and keep their experience positive is critical.”
Read more in “Improving the Care of Patients Newly Diagnosed With Breast Cancer” coming in your Volume 38, Number 2, Oncology Issues.
Resources:
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s)/faculty member(s) and do not reflect the official policy or position of their employer(s) or the Association of Cancer Care Centers.
July 8, 2026
June 30, 2026
At the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting, the Louisiana Oncology Society received the ASCO Jeffrey C Ward Affiliate Advocacy Award for advancing critical advocacy priorities that have translated into meaningful legislative victories. The Iowa Oncology Society and Washington State Medical Oncology Society were also recognized for their advocacy efforts in 2025 at the meeting, receiving second place awards.
