Enhancing timeliness of port placement for new treatment patients: A quality improvement initiative.

335 Background: Timely port placement is crucial for patients beginning new treatments, yet delays can impede care and satisfaction. This initiative aimed to address these delays and improve port placement efficiency for new treatment patients. Methods: A single-center prospective cohort study was conducted between July 2022 and December 2023. Data was collected to assess the time from port order to port placement. Interventions included concurrent scheduling of consult and port placement visits in coordination with interventional radiology (IR) and workflow redesign to enhance oncology navigator involvement by directing port orders to an oncology navigation pool for expedited processing and scheduling. The primary endpoint was to compare the mean difference in days between IR consult order and port placement among pre- and post-intervention groups. Results: The study included 144 patients: 102 in the pre-intervention group (July 2022-June 2023) and 42 in the post-intervention group (July 2023-December 2023). The post-intervention group showed a 26.35% improvement in time to port placement from appointment, compared to pre-intervention intervals. The combined quarterly mean indicated a 14.37% reduction in time to port placement from order. The mean interval between IR consult order and port placement was 15.59 days pre-intervention and 13.35 days post-intervention, with a mean difference of 2.24 days (CI -0.92 to 5.4; p = 0.08). Conclusions: This quality improvement initiative demonstrated substantial progress in reducing delays in port placement for new treatment patients. Optimizing workflow processes and increasing navigator involvement significantly improved timeliness and the overall patient experience. Continued monitoring and refinement of these interventions are essential for sustaining these improvements over time. Mean interval between IR consult order and port placement. Timeframe of Pre-intervention Group Mean of Pre-Intervention Group* Mean of Post-Intervention Group* (July 2023-Dec 2023) Mean Difference Between Pre and Post Intervention Group* Standard Error Confidence Interval p-value July 2022-Dec 2022 16.12 13.35 2.76 1.91 -1.04 to 6.57 0.07 Jan 2023-Jun 2023 14.93 13.35 1.58 1.59 -1.59 to 4.74 0.16 July 2022-Jun 2023 (overall) 15.59 13.35 2.24 1.60 -0.92 to 5.40 0.08 *Mean expressed in days.