--- title: "Automated Waitlists in Ambulatory Care: Transforming Appointment Scheduling" description: Discover how automated waitlists in ambulatory care can significantly reduce appointment delays and missed visits, enhancing patient access and operational efficiency. image: https://blog.jmir.org/hubfs/StoryTap%20Blog%20-%20Elizabeth%20Woodcock.png --- [![JMIR Publications logo](https://blog.jmir.org/hs-fs/hubfs/JMIR-Publications_logo_2020_original.png?width=550&height=109&name=JMIR-Publications_logo_2020_original.png "JMIR Publications logo")](http://www.jmirpublications.com) Open main menu Close main menu [Research News](https://blog.jmir.org/tag/research-news) # Automated Waitlists in Ambulatory Care: Transforming Appointment Scheduling ![Liana Ramos, Marketing Associate](https://blog.jmir.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Liana%20Ramos.jpeg?width=45&name=Liana%20Ramos.jpeg) [Liana Ramos, Marketing Associate](https://blog.jmir.org/author/liana-ramos) Published Date: 30 September 2026 9:00 a.m. [Share this blog post on Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=I+found+this+interesting+blog+post&url=https://blog.jmir.org/automated-waitlists-in-ambulatory-care-transforming-appointment-scheduling) [Share this blog post on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://blog.jmir.org/automated-waitlists-in-ambulatory-care-transforming-appointment-scheduling) [Share this blog post on LinkedIn](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.jmir.org/automated-waitlists-in-ambulatory-care-transforming-appointment-scheduling) ![Automated Waitlists in Ambulatory Care: Transforming Appointment Scheduling](https://blog.jmir.org/hubfs/StoryTap%20Blog%20-%20Elizabeth%20Woodcock.png) Delays in accessing ambulatory care create significant operational strain for health systems and lead to adverse outcomes and diminished experiences for patients. While manual waitlists are resource-intensive and difficult to scale, automated waitlists leverage technology to monitor schedules continuously and send automated notifications to patients when earlier slots open up. | --- **Key Takeaways** | | --- | | Significant Reduction in Wait Times: High-performing health systems moved accepted appointments forward by a median of 36 calendar days, reducing patient lag time from 44 days to just 8 days. | | Lower Missed Appointment Rates: Patients scheduling via automated waitlists had a 3.1% missed appointment rate, compared to 6.6% across all ambulatory appointments. | | Implementation Over Pure Technology: Success depends primarily on cross-functional governance, flexible system configuration, and addressing digital equity barriers rather than treating the tool as a standalone fix. --- | Listen to this blog post 2:03 ---   In a [multisite mixed methods evaluation](https://www.jmir.org/2026/1/e90091/) published in the [Journal of Medical Internet Research](https://www.jmir.org/), lead researcher Elizabeth Woodcock and colleagues at [Patient Access Collaborative](https://www.patientaccesscollaborative.net/) and [Emory University](https://www.emory.edu/) evaluated data from 90 US health systems alongside in-depth case studies of 10 high-performing systems to determine the operational efficacy and implementation drivers of automated waitlists. ### Optimizing Ambulatory Capacity and Patient Access How can health systems fill perishable appointment slots without increasing administrative burden? By evaluating operational metrics alongside qualitative interviews framed by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), the researchers examined how technical parameters, governance structures, and patient communication cadences influence adoption. The findings demonstrate that automated waitlists serve as an adaptive infrastructure component within scheduling workflows, though equity considerations, such as language support and digital divide barriers, must be proactively addressed. Discover how automated scheduling infrastructure can improve appointment access and capacity utilization: - [Read the Full Open-Access Article](https://www.jmir.org/2026/1/e90091/) to examine the CFIR implementation analysis, scheduling rule configurations, and operational benchmarks. - [Watch the Author Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GHip6zi6AI) to hear Elizabeth Woodcock discuss the multisite study findings and implementation strategies. | | In this video, Elizabeth Woodcock from the Patient Access Collaborative and Emory University presents a multisite, mixed-methods evaluation examining the adoption and performance of automated waitlists across US health systems. | | | --- | --- | --- |   ### In the Author's Words > *"Certainly technology is important, but as we know, how you implement it is what ultimately drives success, and that was true in this case as well."* > > > — Elizabeth Woodcock, MBA, DrPH (Patient Access Collaborative and Emory University)   --- Woodcock E, Profeta C, Siegel M Automated Waitlists for Ambulatory Appointment Scheduling: Multisite, Mixed Methods Evaluation J Med Internet Res 2026;28:e90091 URL: [https://www.jmir.org/2026/1/e90091](https://www.jmir.org/2026/1/e90091/) DOI: [10.2196/90091](https://www.jmir.org/2026/1/e90091/) ![Liana Ramos, Marketing Associate](https://blog.jmir.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Liana%20Ramos.jpeg?width=150&name=Liana%20Ramos.jpeg) #### Liana Ramos, Marketing Associate [Follow me on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lianaramos/) Liana Ramos is a Marketing Associate at JMIR Publications, dedicated to building data-driven systems that connect scholarly content with the communities that need it most. With five years of experience at the intersection of media, publishing, and audience behaviour, she handles automated lifecycle journeys, author recognition programs, and record-scale digital events for JMIR. Passionate about storytelling and digital strategy, she focuses on making open access digital health research discoverable, scalable, and highly engaging. ### Leave a Comment ## Related Articles [![The Blueprint for Clarity: The Four Pillars of Health Care Dashboard Design](https://blog.jmir.org/hubfs/Heike%20Vornhagen%20Blog%20Post%20v2.png)](https://blog.jmir.org/mastering-the-dashboard-revolution-in-health-care) [Research News](https://blog.jmir.org/tag/research-news) ### [Mastering the Dashboard Revolution in Health Care](https://blog.jmir.org/mastering-the-dashboard-revolution-in-health-care) The landscape of health care management is undergoing a digital transformation. 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It's unpaid, mostly invisible work, on top of a reviewer's own research and clinical or academic responsibilities.... ![Freya Wilson, Senior Manager, Process Transformation](https://blog.jmir.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202026-09-04%20at%2010.03.53%20AM.png?width=45&name=Screenshot%202026-09-04%20at%2010.03.53%20AM.png) [Freya Wilson, Senior Manager, Process Transformation](https://blog.jmir.org/author/freya-wilson) [Read More](https://blog.jmir.org/early-lessons-from-jmirs-karma-reviewer-rewards-program) #### About - Menu Item One - Menu Item Two - Menu Item Three #### Services - Menu Item One - Menu Item Two - Menu Item Three #### News - Menu Item One - Menu Item Two - Menu Item Three Follow us on Facebook Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Liana Ramos, Marketing Associate", "url" : "https://blog.jmir.org/author/liana-ramos" }, "dateModified" : "2026-09-30T13:00:02.590Z", "datePublished" : "2026-09-30T13:00:02.000Z", "headline" : "Automated Waitlists in Ambulatory Care: Transforming Appointment Scheduling", "image" : [ "https://blog.jmir.org/hubfs/StoryTap%20Blog%20-%20Elizabeth%20Woodcock.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.jmir.org/automated-waitlists-in-ambulatory-care-transforming-appointment-scheduling", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.jmir.org/hubfs/JMIR-Publications_logo_2020_original.png" }, "name" : "JMIR Publications" } } ```