%0 Journal Article
%T Advancing Primary Care Access: Exploring the Impact of the Virtual Waiting Room on the Quadruple Aim.
%A Runge MS
%A Meade L
%A Obaida Z
%A Mariano VJ
%A Sumorok N
%A Churchill E
%A Aulakh S
%A Bush B
%A Canty L
%A Kidder L
%A Bourgeault B
%A Newport K
%A Parrilla E
%A Pirraglia PA
%J J Gen Intern Med
%V 39
%N 12
%D 2024 Sep 17
%M 38886322
%F 6.473
%R 10.1007/s11606-024-08857-w
%X <B>BACKGROUND: </B>Community health centers grapple with high no-show rates, posing challenges to patient access and primary care provider (PCP) utilization.<BR><B>OBJECTIVE: </B>To address these challenges, we implemented a virtual waiting room (VWR) program in April 2023 to enhance patient access and boost PCP utilization.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>Academic community health center in a small urban city in Massachusetts.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>Community health patients (n = 8706) and PCP (n = 14).<BR><B>METHODS: </B>The VWR program, initiated in April 2023, involved nurse triage of same-day visit requests for telehealth appropriateness, then placing patients in a standby pool to fill in as a telehealth visit for no-shows or last-minute cancellations in PCP schedules.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>Post-implementation, clinic utilization rates between July and September improved from 75.2% in 2022 to 81.2% in 2023 (p < 0.01). PCP feedback was universally positive. Patients experienced a mean wait time of 1.9 h, offering a timely and convenient alternative to urgent care or the ER.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>The VWR is aligned with the quadruple aim of improving patient experience, population health, cost-effectiveness, and PCP satisfaction through improving same-day access and improving PCP schedule utilization. This innovative and reproducible approach in outpatient offices utilizing telehealth holds the potential for enhancing timely access across various medical disciplines.