Microsoft Excel has been the go-to tool for emergency medicine scheduling managers for years. For the longest time, this program has been the easiest solution for these professionals; however, with advances in technology and the advent of shift scheduling software, it’s time for medical staff scheduling managers to ditch Excel and kick their scheduling up a notch with physician scheduling software.
Why It’s Time to Say Goodbye to Excel
While Excel may have once been an effective tool for shift scheduling managers, today, it is considered an archaic tool for emergency medicine scheduling. Here are seven reasons why it’s time to say goodbye to this old scheduling tool:
1) It isn’t secure.
Sure, you can create a password to protect your spreadsheets, but that password can easily be compromised. When someone else has access to your password, they also have access to all of the data held within your spreadsheets, and there goes the security of your staff and your hospital or doctor’s office.
2) It’s challenging to use with groups.
Because the data that is created in Excel is stored on your hard drive, there isn’t a way to share it with others, which means that your staff doesn’t have access to the schedule, unless you share it directly with every person – and even if it is shared, it’s not a cloud tool, so it can’t be edited.
3) It’s difficult to manage shift swaps.
Since the data on Excel cannot be centrally edited, shift swaps are virtually impossible to manage.
4) It’s difficult to use for multiple locations.
Again, since the information on Excel can only be accessed by others, if you share it directly with every single person on your staff, it is hard to use for multiple locations.
5) It’s outdated technology.
New advances in technology that are used for shift scheduling have made Excel extremely outdated. Spreadsheets have become passé.
6) It is prone to human error.
Errors can easily be made on Excel, and those errors can spell disaster for your staff and for your patients.
7) It doesn’t have robust collaboration among its users.
This means that it can be difficult for other scheduling managers and your staff to use.
Instead of running the risk of subjecting your staff, your patients, and your hospital or doctor’s office with the disadvantages of the antiquated Excel spreadsheets, upgrade to shift scheduling software. This software will simplify your scheduling efforts by making it easier for you, other scheduling managers, and your entire staff (across multiple locations) to access and manage the schedule. With this software, anyone on your team can access and make changes to the schedule from any device that has access to the Internet.
Shift scheduling software is the wave of the future, and that wave is here – it’s time to ride it!
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