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Online scheduling is coming to UVA Health Adult and Pediatric Primary Care on Aug. 27, marking the first time that online scheduling will be consistently available to patients across one of our largest specialties. Read on to learn about this next exciting step in our digital evolution.  

Scope & Rationale 

What is online scheduling?  

Online scheduling includes: 

• Direct scheduling: patients may schedule with an existing provider via MyChart. 
• Open scheduling: patients may schedule an initial visit with a provider with whom they have no existing relationship and who is accepting new patients via uvahealth.com 

Why is UVA Health implementing online scheduling? 

• Patients want and expect online scheduling options, and most of our peers are offering them. 
  • UVA Health currently performs below the bottom 10th percentile of the Epic academic medical center community average for appointments available online. Direct scheduling is adopted by 83% of the Epic community as a whole and nearly 90% of academic medical centers in the Epic community.  
  • Each month our data show thousands of patients entering the scheduling workflow within MyChart, with 97% of scheduling attempts failing.  
• Online scheduling enables practices to compete more directly with peers who offer online scheduling. 
• Online scheduling supports patient acquisition and retention and reduces the likelihood of patients becoming unengaged or deferring unmet medical needs. 
• Online scheduling results in fewer unfilled appointments by working in tandem with the Epic patient texting service to offer appointments to patients on a waitlist for a sooner appointment.  
• Online scheduling will enhance the operational efficiency of our Access teams, who already manage an extremely high volume of work. 

What types of visits can be scheduled online? 

Only a subset of appointment types will be available for online scheduling. These include: 

• Visit types available for open scheduling (no pre-existing relationship with provider; geriatric practices will not offer open scheduling): 
  • PC INITIAL VISIT  
  • PEDS INITIAL VISIT  

• Visit types available for direct scheduling (existing provider relationship):  
  • PC ADULT PREVENTIVE CARE   
  • PC FOLLOW-UP  
  • PC MEDICARE ANNUAL WELLNESS   
  • PC PRE-OP VISIT  
  • PEDS FOLLOW-UP  
  • PEDS PRE-OP  
  • PEDS SICK VISIT   
  • PEDS WELL VISIT   
  • SPORTS PHYSICAL 

Which clinics will offer online scheduling? 

Does UVA Health plan to eliminate Access roles with the introduction of online scheduling?  

The introduction of online scheduling is not a step toward reducing the Access workforce. Rather, it will help enhance the operational efficiency of this division that manages an extremely high volume of work.  

Implementation 

Will providers be expected to add appointment slots to accommodate online scheduling? 

• Online scheduling does not change/increase the number or type of appointments on a provider’s template. It simply allows existing, open appointments to be filled in a different way.  
• Online scheduling follows most of the same rules and criteria built into Cadence templates; however, it does not follow Decision Tree logic.  
  • For example, if a Cadence template is modified to remove initial visits because a provider has reached their panel limit, online scheduling for initial visits with that provider also will be closed.  

How are we safeguarding against patients scheduling into the wrong type of visits? 

Appointments scheduled online will be easily distinguishable in Epic to help Access team members identify any potential issues. Additionally, patients cannot schedule appointments online less than 48 hours in advance (except pediatric sick visits). This helps ensure that Access teams have the opportunity to spot scheduling errors.  

Has online scheduling been tested at UVA Health? 

A three-month pilot of online scheduling began in April 2024 with the six UVA Community Health Medical Group primary care clinics (4 family medicine, 1 internal medicine, 1 general pediatrics), yielding crucial feedback and promising results: 

• ~13% of appointments available online across 6 sites 
  • The Academic Medical Center 50th percentile is 11.2% of appointments available online.  
• ~300 patients have scheduled their initial visit appointment via Open Scheduling since go-live
• The no-show rate for online scheduled appointments continues to perform better than the overall no-show rate: 
  • May: 5.9% no-show rate for online scheduled appointments versus 12% overall no-show rate 
  • June: 8.3% no-show rate for online scheduled appointments versus 12.2% overall no-show rate 

In the weeks following go-live, HIT and Ambulatory leaders hosted a series of virtual “office hours” sessions to answer questions and gather valuable feedback, and implemented adjustments accordingly (e.g., clarifying language in patient interface, etc.). 

How will success be measured and tracked?  

Ambulatory leaders and HIT will track the following metrics, and solicit feedback to ensure online scheduling is functioning as intended and delivering the expected results. 

• % of appointments available online 
• % of appointments scheduled online 
• Reduced no show rate for appointments that are scheduled online vs. other 
• Average days saved by accepting a Fast Pass offer for initial visit 
• Savings from online scheduling – defined by estimated staff time saved and value captured from a reduced no show rate 
• Patient experience related to ease of scheduling (Press Ganey Survey) 
• Appointment slot utilization rate  
• New patient appointment – access within 14 days  
• Unique patients new to UVA Health  

Once open scheduling goes live, how can I provide feedback? 

Post go-live, provider feedback will be critical to refining the process to ensure a positive experience for patients and clinic teams alike. You are encouraged to report any issues via an Epic ticket. Additionally, we will be hosting online drop-in sessions during the first week to collect feedback. These sessions will take place from August 28 to September 3 at 10:30 a.m. To join a drop-in session, please use the information below: 

Join from the meeting link.
Join by meeting number
Meeting number (access code): 2429 338 6793
Meeting password: PYbtrHXy286   

Patient Experience 

How will patients learn about online scheduling?  

Callouts and links to schedule online will be added to the UVA Health and UVA Health Children’s home pages, and Primary Care, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Pediatrics service line pages. Patients will also see information in MyChart and other locations alerting them to the availability of online scheduling. Other broad-based awareness tactics may also be used. 

Can patients schedule online if they don’t have a MyChart account?  

If a patient does not have a MyChart account, they can schedule an initial visit (open scheduling) as a guest. Direct scheduling with an existing provider requires a MyChart account.  

Can patients still schedule by phone?  

Patients can still book appointments by phone or use the online appointment request form.  

Can patients cancel or reschedule appointments online?  

Patients may cancel appointments online but must call to modify or reschedule an appointment.  

If a patient is on the waitlist, how will they know an appointment has become available to them?  

If an appointment opens sooner, patients will receive a phone call. In cases where a clinic uses Fast Pass, the patient may be notified via text message.