Problem
In healthcare, efficient time management is crucial, yet creating reliable shift schedules remains a significant challenge, particularly in hospitals with a large workforce. Often, doctors are required to plan their own shifts, which takes time away from patient care. Alternatively, hospitals may hire planners to manage this task, but the process involves complex considerations, such as patient and staff preferences, estimating procedure times, and ensuring compliance with labor regulations. Without the appropriate tools, scheduling can become a tedious and time-consuming task.
Many healthcare organizations still rely on Excel for scheduling, which can be inefficient. It can take a planner up to 10 hours to arrange multiple shifts using Excel, highlighting the need for a more streamlined solution.
Solution
To address these challenges, healthcare organizations have turned to specialized roster and shift scheduling apps. These apps leverage optimization models to manage the complexity of schedules, ensuring an even distribution of work hours among medical staff.
These cloud-based applications are accessible via both desktop and mobile devices. Healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses, and administrative staff, can easily input their holiday schedules and shift preferences using mobile apps. Planners can then configure the system to account for various rules and constraints, such as:
- Day and night shifts
- Backup shifts
- Specialty-specific shifts
- Labor regulations
- Availability of operation rooms
Once the setup is complete, the optimization model generates schedules for the upcoming 2-3 months or even up to a year, providing a clear overview of staffing needs and highlighting any potential shortages. The app also syncs schedules across devices, allowing staff to quickly access and manage their shifts, request changes, or book time off—all without sorting through spreadsheets.
Agile Scheduling During Uncertainty
The COVID-19 pandemic presented additional challenges for hospitals worldwide, including personnel shortages and the reallocation of medical staff. Many hospitals paused elective procedures to focus on urgent care and intensive care units (ICUs). Scheduling tools became invaluable during this time, enabling institutions to quickly integrate doctors from different departments into ICU rotations. These systems accommodated personal preferences and strict privacy requirements, allowing doctors to volunteer for shifts with ease.
The ability to adjust schedules rapidly and efficiently, especially during high-pressure periods, was a critical advantage for hospitals. In such scenarios, staff could be added to schedules with minimal effort, providing much-needed flexibility.
Results
Hospitals using such scheduling applications have reported significant time savings. Planning time was reduced by over 60%, from 10 hours using Excel to just 4 hours or less.
Benefits in Summary
- 60% reduction in planning time
- More efficient shift planning
- Increased employee satisfaction, with a user rating of 9 out of 10
- Greater adaptability and flexibility in response to changing needs
These tools have proven to be essential for enhancing efficiency and staff satisfaction in healthcare organizations, especially in times of uncertainty.
Leave a Reply