Insight
Reducing Wait Times, Restoring Trust: A Purpose-Driven Approach to Patient Access
If you’ve tried to book a doctor’s appointment lately, you already know that long wait times have become the norm. A recent survey found that patients wait an average of 38 days for new appointments across specialties, far beyond the industry goal of 14 days.
These delays aren’t just frustrating. They’re barriers to timely care, trust, and patient well-being. They can lead to worse health outcomes, lower satisfaction, and missed revenue opportunities. The good news? With the right mix of purpose, empathy, and capability, healthcare organizations can meaningfully reduce wait times and deliver care experiences that are seamless, equitable, and human-centered.
Improving patient access isn’t just about speed—it’s about trust. When we design systems with empathy, align them with purpose, thoughtfully measure them, and empower them with the right capabilities, we can create timely care experiences that are seamless, human, and equitable.
KRISTAL WITTMANNDHSc, CX-PX Strategist
Here’s how to get started.
Understanding the Link Between Access and Wait Times
When we talk about patient access, we mean more than just making appointments. It’s the full experience of how patients find, schedule, and receive care. Long wait times are often symptoms of deeper systemic issues, such as:
- Outdated or disconnected scheduling systems
- Ineffective capacity management
- Limited staff availability
- Manual workflows
- Siloed data and communication tools
These challenges don’t just delay care—they erode trust and make it harder for patients to engage with the healthcare system. Addressing access holistically, with an intentional focus on aligning purpose, measurement, experience, and capability, is key to sustainable improvement.
Access vs. Experience: What’s the Difference?
| Access | Experience |
|---|---|
| Ability to schedule or receive care | How patients feel about the sum of all interactions over time |
| Availability of appointments and channels | Ease, clarity, and empathy at each touchpoint |
| Operational efficiency | Emotional connection and confidence in the care journey |
| Technology and logistics infrastructure | Trust, satisfaction, and likelihood to recommend or return |
| Addressing systemic bottlenecks | Reducing cognitive and emotional friction for patients |
Strategy 1: Meet Patients Where They Are With Omnichannel Access
Today’s patients expect healthcare to be as accessible and intuitive as other parts of their lives. That means being able to schedule, reschedule, or check information through multiple channels, whether they’re using a mobile app, calling the office, texting, or visiting a website.
Omnichannel access goes beyond convenience by meeting patients where they are, reducing friction, and ensuring consistent experiences across every touchpoint. It helps prevent missed appointments, relieves call center burdens, and builds trust by showing patients their time and preferences are respected.
Strategy 2: Use Data To Optimize Scheduling, Capacity, and Experience
Too often, scheduling is built on outdated habits or guesswork. But data can change that. When healthcare leaders tap into appointment, experience, EHR, and call center data, they gain a clear picture of access barriers and opportunities.
With the right analytics, organizations can:
- Forecast demand using real trends.
- Identify scheduling inefficiencies.
- Align provider availability with patient needs.
- Monitor and adjust performance in real time.
- See the patient journey and pain points.
- Improve staff and patient experience.
By using data to guide decision-making, health systems can better balance capacity, improve timeliness, and create experiences that reflect actual patient needs.
Strategy 3: Redesign Workflows With Empathy and Intentionality
Technology alone won’t solve broken processes. To truly improve access, organizations need to step back, use a holistic viewpoint, and reimagine how care is delivered—centered around the patient journey.
That might mean:
- Centralizing scheduling across departments.
- Cross-training access staff to reduce gaps.
- Shifting to demand-based staffing.
- Eliminating unnecessary handoffs and delays.
Redesigning workflows with empathy means understanding where friction points exist, involving frontline staff in the solution, and creating systems that support—not strain—the patients and staff who use them.
Let’s Build Trust—Together
Improving access doesn’t have to mean overhauling everything. Small, strategic shifts like embracing omnichannel engagement, leveraging data, and redesigning workflows can have a big impact on how quickly and effectively patients receive care. Even better, patients will build trust and confidence in their providers as these improvements take hold.
At Tegria, we help health systems align purpose, experience, and capability to create access strategies that reduce wait times and build lasting trust. Whether you need planning, implementation, or ongoing support, we’ll meet you where you are.
Ready to reduce wait times and redesign patient access with purpose? Get in touch with our team.
Want to hear more from Kristal Wittmann? She’ll join Anna Schwinn, Principal Program Manager, Access + Experience with Tegria, and Erika Smith, PharmD, FACHE, FASHP, Executive Director, Transformation & Integration Office with Froedtert ThedaCare Health, to dive deeper into these topics during the upcoming Beryl Institute webinar, Aligning Experience To Drive Scalable, Sustainable Change on June 10, 2025.