Speed of Care at Cancer Treatment Centers of America

While at CTCA, we want you and your loved ones to relax and focus on healing. We believe that scheduling delays and long waits are not only distracting for you, but are also unnecessary. To create an environment that is as convenient and stress-free as possible, we continually improve how each of our hospitals function.

CTCA was one of the first hospital systems to embrace Lean Thinking principles, a concept that helps us identify treatment and process improvements that will benefit patients. Improvement projects range from large to small and always have the patient's needs and wishes at the center.

For example, we recently explored the amount of time patients spend in the waiting area to receive chemotherapy infusions through port access procedures. Using Lean Thinking, we made small changes that made a big difference for patients:

• Daily peaks of activity were identified and new scheduling guidelines were implemented.
• The appointment schedule was changed from 15-minute time slots to 20-minute intervals, preventing unnecessary delays.
• Instead of depending on the lab technicians to print patient port access labels, the department's secretary now prints them as each patient arrives.

These and other process changes slashed patient wait time by more than 75%, from over 40 minutes to now an average of ten minutes.

Lean Thinking was first developed by the Toyota Production System and is now widely used by leading service providers and manufacturers.

Across CTCA, improvement teams find ways to enhance the patient experience every day. As a result, patients often tell us that our service and care are the best they have ever experienced. Here are a few of their verbatim comments:

"…this has been the best hospital I and my family has ever dealt with. I would and have recommended this hospital to my family with cancer and people I have met." (CTCA, Philadelphia, PA)

"It is like coming home to return here." (CTCA, Tulsa, OK)

"My treatment is so prompt, both radiation and chemo. The test scheduled are so prompt and results so quick. At other hospitals [the time spent] waiting for test results is so long. I will always be amazed [that at CTCA I can] find out about CT test results overnight. I feel so well treated at CTCA compared to any other medical facility." (CTCA, Zion, IL)

"Whenever I have a problem your people address it so quickly I'm amazed. I'm amazed. I'm used to hospital personnel being slower than slugs; last time I mentioned an issue, a patient advocate came in under 10 minutes." (CTCA, Zion, IL)

"Thank you for making my time here as un-stressful as possible. CTCA is the 'Disney World' of cancer treatment centers." (CTCA, Zion, IL)

More: Breast Cancer Survival Statistics and Results / Breast Cancer Quality of Life / Patient Loyalty Statistics and Results / Breast Cancer Patient Testimonial