The Cancer Service Line (CSL) and the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation (PC3I) at the Abramson Cancer Center (ACC) are excited to announce the selection of the 2024 Penn Cancer Innovation Accelerator project, EASE: rEimagining cAncer SchEduling. 

Katie Boyk, BS, MHA, the Associate Director of Operations for the Cancer Service Line submitted the winning proposal, which outlined the complex operational challenges that affect scheduling for cancer patients, especially those in active treatment. For example, an individual patient about to start a new chemotherapy regimen often needs not only infusion appointments – the length of which depends on the specific regimen – but also blood draws, provider appointments, and imaging. All of these ancillary appointments have complex sequencing and timing involved. The current process for communicating these scheduling needs is overly manual and too often causes downstream operational challenges and frustration for patients and clinicians alike. 

As part of the Accelerator program, PC3I will partner with Katie to build an interdisciplinary, cross-functional project team from across Penn Medicine. With oversight and guidance from the CSL/PC3I leadership group, the project team will spend the next 6-9 months focused on fully diagnosing this problem and proposing innovative solutions. Drawing on PC3I’s expertise in design thinking, behavioral change, and clinical transformation, the project aims to redesign the cancer scheduling process to prioritize both patient-centeredness and operational efficiency. 

Each year, the Penn Cancer Innovation Accelerator program invites applications from across Penn Medicine to create and test innovative solutions for challenges in cancer care at Penn. Past projects include:  

• Prehab to Rehab: Improving Prep & Recovery for Patients with Cancer (P2R) 
• Advanced Hematologic Malignancy Outpatient Service (AHOPS) 
• Maximizing Social Worker Time Spent on Clinical Tasks