No one wants to wait for care. But the urgency is especially acute when cancer is a possibility. If a patient’s colonoscopy reveals a suspicious nodule requiring follow-up, ensuring timely evaluation and next steps as quickly as possible, is crucial.
At Jefferson Health, it’s not just about accelerating care—it's also about reducing anxiety. Waiting for answers can be incredibly stressful for patients and their families.
“If we can remove that worry even by a day or a week, we want to do that,” said Baligh R. Yehia, MD, MPP, MSc, president of Jefferson Health, a nonprofit health system that serves eastern Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia, southern New Jersey.
This was the driving force behind the Same Day Next Day program, which connects patients with physicians and care teams within 24 to 48 hours. Care is led by nonphysician providers and supported by the physician team, with availability during the day, evenings and weekends.
It’s not just about getting patients into treatment faster—it's about creating certainty and coordination from the very beginning.
The initial appointment focuses on organizing the patient's care. The team reviews existing records, identifies any missing testing or imaging, coordinates additional studies, and begins preparing the patient for their first specialist visit. This means that many of the steps that usually occur after the first oncology appointment are already underway before the patient meets with their physician.
Since launching the program, Jefferson Health has completed more than 2,000 patient appointments, reaping impressive results. Patients are moving more quickly through cancer staging and treatment initiation, experiencing shorter times to intervention, and benefiting from more coordinated care.
Beyond the clinical impact, the program is reaping benefits in areas such as care coordination, emotional support, and addressing social and financial barriers that can affect access to care, said Dr. Yehia.
Jefferson Health is part of the AMA Health System Member Program, which provides enterprise solutions to equip leadership, physicians and care teams with resources to help drive the future of medicine.
Meeting patients where they are
Jefferson Health is on a mission to be the most accessible healthcare system in its region, and ultimately in the country. The Same Day Next Day program grew out of that commitment, said Dr. Yehia.
Talking with patients, community members, physicians and colleagues, two themes consistently emerge: access and affordability. Patients will often say, "I can't get in to see a doctor," or ask, "Which doctor should I see?" Many are also looking for reliable health information and want to know whether they can trust the sources they're finding.
Those conversations helped shape the program’s approach, said Dr. Yehia.
Access means meeting patients and their families where they are. That includes offering care in convenient locations, providing virtual and in-home options alongside traditional in-person visits, and ensuring robust language services. The process also makes it easier for family members who live out of town to participate remotely in important conversations about care.
Cancer care was a natural place to start because timely access is especially critical when someone is facing a potential cancer diagnosis or needs treatment, said Dr. Yehia. Reducing delays can make a meaningful difference in both the patient experience and the overall care journey.
“We think very comprehensively about access to care. But when we set out on this bold mission to become the most accessible health system, we really thought about where do we want to go? And cancer care rose to the top,” he said.
A step by step on the “Same Day” process
The program launched in the summer of 2024. Jefferson Health has continued to refine and expand it since then, noted Dr. Yehia.
One of the strengths of the program is how easy it is for patients to get access to care. There are multiple ways to connect, including traditional referrals, but the program is primarily virtual, which allows things to move very quickly. Patients can also call directly or request an appointment online, and the process is designed to be as seamless as possible.
The service operates beyond traditional clinic hours—Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon. It extends availability into the evenings and weekends because patients don't always need help during standard business hours.
This program is very much a team sport, and the collaboration between nonphysician providers, physicians, nurses, and support staff has been a key contributor to the program's success, Dr. Yehia emphasized.
Once a patient makes contact, they're scheduled for an appointment within 24 to 48 hours. The advanced practice clinicians serve as the first point of contact for many patients, coordinating testing, staging, referrals, and supportive services before the patient meets with a specialist. That preparation allows oncologists to focus more directly on diagnosis, treatment planning, and clinical decision-making when the patient arrives for their appointment.
One of the most important goals is ensuring patients arrive at their first oncology appointment fully prepared. These health professionals are trained across multiple cancer types and can assess what information is available, identify what's missing, and coordinate any additional testing that may be needed, said Dr. Yehia.
Paving a clear path for patients
The team also helps answer one of the most common questions patients face: Where do I go next?
For example, if someone learns during a colonoscopy that a mass has been found, they may not know whether they need to see a medical oncologist, surgical oncologist, or another specialist. The care team helps navigate those decisions and ensures patients are directed to the right physician from the start, reducing unnecessary delays and handoffs.
They also help address health-related social needs that can affect a patient's ability to access care. This may include:
- Coordinating transportation.
- Helping patients navigate insurance questions.
- Connecting them with financial resources or addressing other barriers that could delay treatment.
- Directing patients to services such as counseling, supportive therapies, wellness resources and other programs designed to improve quality of life during treatment.
The structured intake process also creates opportunities to connect patients with supportive oncology services, clinical trials and other resources earlier in their journey.
Across Jefferson's broader health system, the program has become a valuable resource. With 33 hospitals serving communities throughout eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, many patients are diagnosed in emergency departments, particularly those who don't have a primary care physician or who may not have received routine preventive screenings.
In those situations, emergency physicians can connect patients directly to the program rather than simply providing a phone number and hoping follow-up occurs. The care team can immediately begin coordinating the necessary testing, imaging, and consultations to ensure patients move efficiently into treatment, even if they don't have an established physician.
Fast track program a “lifeline” for patients
Physician teams consistently say that the program gives them confidence that patients won't fall through the cracks. Rather than handing someone a phone number and hoping they follow up, they can connect patients directly into a system that actively guides them through the next steps.
The program also helps specialists practice more efficiently. By the time patients arrive for their first oncology visit, much of the diagnostic and administrative groundwork has already been completed, allowing physicians to focus on treatment planning and clinical decision-making.
The feedback from patients has also been incredibly powerful.
Many patients describe the program as a lifeline during one of the most frightening moments of their lives. One patient referred to it as a "godsend" because of the immediate guidance and support they received after learning they might have cancer.
Patients appreciate having someone who can explain the process, answer questions, and guide them through the next steps rather than leaving them to navigate a complex healthcare system on their own, said Dr. Yehia.
What health systems should consider
Organizations considering a similar model shouldn’t assume the solution has to fit entirely within existing processes. In some cases, creating a dedicated access pathway with its own resources and staffing may be more effective than trying to layer additional responsibilities onto existing teams.
Ultimately, the key is to design the system around the patient experience. When access, coordination, and navigation are treated as core functions—not afterthoughts—you can create a much smoother path to care for both patients and clinicians, said Dr. Yehia.
Looking ahead, Jefferson Health is in the process of expanding the program to liver disease, neurology and dermatology, specialties that have some of the longest wait times nationally. These areas of medicine would lend themselves well to a virtual model, to increase access for patients, said Dr. Yehia.
