Case Study: Self-Scheduling for Specialty Care

• 6,092 Patient have scheduled appointments via Web Self-scheduling
• 2,758 new patients found us and scheduled (45% of all patients were new patients)
• 6,922 appointments have been scheduled
• 34 clinics throughout UCSF offer online scheduling for specialty, primary and urgent care

(current as of 3/1/2023)

Scheduling appointments at specialty care clinics can be a convoluted journey with long hold times, phone tag that can take days, and endless forms to fill out, and for patients who are newly diagnosed, it’s just added stress and frustration during an already overwhelming time.


Online, patients are able to schedule after answering 4 to 7 questions and book an appointment, at their convenience and as soon as the next day, to start their care journey.

We removed the complexity of getting an appointment for specialty care, by making online self-scheduling simple, fast, and convenient for patients.

1. Patients answer a few quick questions online then make an appointment with a new patient navigator as soon as the next day

2. They receive an automatic email confirmation giving them all the details to prepare them for their appointment

3. At their first appointment, new patient navigators guide new patients by assessing their needs whether it is taking more tests, or leading them to the right clinic, and then making the best provider appointment match for their care.

When patients schedule themselves, staff save an average of 10 administrative minutes per patients, decreasing hold times for those who do need more help or prefer to call.

Patients also come to their appointments better prepared as their email confirmation gives them details of what’s needs for their appointment.

In analyzing data, it was found that 38% of appointments were booked outside of UCSF Health business hours, which meant that patients were making appointments at their convenience.

• Our net promotor score is positive (34), measuring that patients feel comfortable
recommending UCSF based on their experience scheduling
• Our Customer Satisfaction score (CSAT) is 76 meaning that 76 percent of patients
scheduling online are satisfied with the experience
• Staff report that they save time by avoiding data entry for patient demographics and
registration as compared to receiving calls or receiving email forms
• Staff report that they save time and have more time for valuable conversation because
patients are in a quiet space and ready to talk for navigator calls

(current as of 3/1/2023)

• I’m very happy I have the Navigator appointment
• I’m surprised at how quickly I was able to get in with web scheduling
• You called me at 3pm on the dot! UCSF is on top of it!
• Thank you for creating tools to make this process easy and smooth
• EASY! Well-designed website
• This was one of the best, and easiest, scheduling experiences I’ve had
• This option is great!!! I love being able to quickly schedule appointments, and I use MyChart for all kinds of things. Thank you for setting this up! So much better than hanging on a phone line forever when you are a busy person.
• Very Easy to use and set-up, thanks!
• I didn’t think it would be this easy!

Self-scheduling continues to expand across practices in the Cancer, Adult, and Pediatrics, adding a more scheduling opportunities eaach month.