Abstract

Background: In Chile, the private healthcare system allows patients to directly schedule appointments with any specialist, a practice that increases costs, delays diagnosis, and contributes to dissatisfaction. In medical oncology, a specialty with a shortage of professionals, such unrestricted access leads to excessive workload and therapeutic discontinuity. To address this, Clínica Alemana de Santiago implemented the Oncology Concierge, a guided digital scheduling tool that directs patients according to diagnostic or therapeutic stage, distinguishing those with confirmed diagnosis, pa tients in active treatment, and individuals with concerns or family history. Methods:A descriptive study was conducted including adults over 18 years seeking oncology consultation; minors and users without digital access were excluded. Development comprised problem identification, co-design with patients, clinical and administrative teams, usability testing, staff training, and a one-month pilot. Results:In the first month, 638 users accessed the oncology webpage. Guided by the Oncology Concierge, 470 were redirected to other specialties, 140 effectively scheduled oncology consultations, 48 were referred to a non-oncology pathway, and 7 to family medicine. Another strength was the expansion of web availability: pre viously blocked, now 70% of oncology appointments are accessible online, enabling patient self-management and reducing administrative workload. Conclusions:The Oncology Concierge optimizes human resources, improves timeli ness of care, ensures treatment continuity, and enhances patient experience through a simple, flexible, and efficient digital system. This model is scalable and may be applied to other high-demand specialties to improve access and resource utilization. Legal entity responsible for the study:The authors. Funding:Has not received any funding. Disclosure:All authors have declared no conflicts of interest