Leveraging Technology and Innovation to Improve the Patient Journey and Access to Care

Improving patient access and experience remains a top priority across the healthcare landscape, especially as organizations face growing demand, workforce constraints and rising consumer expectations. This session explores a comprehensive approach to access transformation by leveraging advanced technology and innovation to streamline the patient journey from scheduling through care delivery. It will highlight real-world initiatives that automate and optimize access workflows, including the use of Epic scheduling rules, template management to increase capacity, cross-site scheduling capabilities and the deployment of intelligent self-scheduling tools. The implementation of scheduling decision trees and “ticket scheduling” supports a more intuitive, efficient and patient-driven process.

Additionally, the session will explore how artificial intelligence is being used to enhance patient communication and operational efficiency. Key initiatives include automated outbound calls for imaging and physician referrals; phone bots that detect caller intent to confirm, cancel or reschedule appointments; and the application of large language models to quality score patient calls—creating consistent feedback loops and identifying opportunities to improve service delivery. Short-term outcomes for participants include practical insights into adopting and scaling these innovations to reduce friction in the patient journey. Long-term outcomes focus on building the capabilities to align technology investments with access strategy, improve systemwide coordination and drive measurable improvements in patient satisfaction and operational performance. This session addresses critical gaps in knowledge and implementation by demonstrating how to move from concept to execution, offering a roadmap to operationalize emerging technologies in complex care environments while maintaining a focus on patient-centered transformation.