Executive Summary

A medical oncology practice operating across two Texas locations engaged RBS to assess staffing, infusion operations, scheduling workflows, and overall clinic performance. While both sites had strong clinical teams, inconsistencies in day-to-day operations were limiting efficiency, creating uneven workloads, and leaving existing capacity underutilized.

RBS identified opportunities to standardize workflows, optimize chemotherapy scheduling, better align staff responsibilities, and operate the clinics as a more unified practice. These changes positioned the organization to improve productivity, expand capacity, and support growth without adding staff.

Key outcomes included:

• Greater consistency across both locations
• Improved infusion and staffing efficiency
• Better use of existing clinical capacity
• Fewer administrative and phone-related bottlenecks
• Clearer alignment of staff roles and responsibilities
• A more scalable model to support long-term growth

Identifying the Opportunity

When RBS began the assessment, the objective was straightforward: improve efficiency, strengthen workflows, and support future growth while maintaining high-quality patient care.

What emerged is a familiar challenge in many healthcare organizations. The issue was not a lack of staff, but a lack of operational alignment.

Although both locations were performing well independently, they were not functioning as a cohesive system. Differences in scheduling, staffing workflows, communication, and daily processes created unnecessary friction. Teams were working hard, but time and effort were being lost to avoidable inefficiencies.

To better understand these dynamics, RBS conducted a comprehensive operational review, including:

• Staffing and workload analysis
• Chemotherapy scheduling evaluation
• Infusion workflow assessment
• Phone and triage operations review
• Benchmarking against oncology best practices
• Interviews with clinical and operational leaders

This work highlighted clear opportunities to improve coordination, streamline patient flow, and more effectively leverage existing staff and resources.

A More Integrated Approach

RBS developed a future-state model centered on consistency, coordination, and scalability.

Key recommendations included:

• Managing both sites as a single, coordinated oncology practice
• Standardizing chemotherapy scheduling processes
• Cross-training nursing staff to increase flexibility
• Redistributing administrative and triage responsibilities
• Improving phone workflow management
• Aligning responsibilities so staff consistently work at the top of their license
• Clarifying provider and APP roles to enhance access and productivity

Importantly, the assessment also revealed unused infusion capacity at both locations, reinforcing that operational improvements, not additional hiring, were the primary path to growth.

The Impact

With more consistent workflows and clearer role alignment, the practice was positioned to operate more efficiently and effectively across both locations.

Expected benefits included:

• Increased efficiency without additional headcount
• Greater flexibility in staffing and scheduling
• Improved patient flow and scheduling consistency
• Reduced silos between locations
• Expanded capacity to support patient growth
• Stronger communication and accountability across teams

Most importantly, the engagement established a more durable operational foundation, one that supports both high-quality patient care and long-term organizational success.

For organizations navigating rising demand and workforce pressures, this work reinforces a key principle: meaningful growth often comes not from adding resources, but from making better use of the ones already in place.