Emergency departments are among the medical specialties that are the most challenging to schedule because of their 24/7 staffing requirements and high clinician burnout rate. In your group's schedule, you need to accommodate things like:
* Patient flow fluctuations
* Physician preferences
* Staff shortages
* Overcrowding
The good news, however, is that you can now automate all these processes with advanced physician scheduling technology. And as this technology continues to advance, you're going to have an increasing number of options available to you to assist you in your scheduling duties. But, there are some factors you need to compare when you're out there shopping for your emergency physician scheduling software.
Ease of Scheduling
With scheduling software, you can view the schedule anywhere, anytime and from any browser. Make changes and trades to the schedule and have those changes immediately available for your staff to see. Emergency doctors can manage switches, requests, holidays and vacations, all in real-time.
Create schedules with your own defined rules. Create your schedule manually by choosing a doctor, nurse or another provider for each shift. Create your schedule with an easy-to-use template format.
Corporate Dashboards
Emergency medicine scheduling facilitates staffing more efficiently by enabling multi-group organizations to work their schedule independently or centrally if preferred. Consolidate all staff data with corporate level reporting into simple to understand reports that provide you with essential insight on how you can use your doctors more efficiently.
Software Compatibility
Shift scheduling software is simple to view on various platforms like computers, smartphones or printed. The software makes it easy to share a link with multiple departments. Give your staff access to view and edit the schedule as needed, including attending, residents, edit chiefs, off service rotators, APDs, PD or program coordinators.
Sync with Mobile Devices
When you don't communicate the schedule properly, it can lead to issues like staff members not showing up where or when they're needed. This leads to partial coverage and reduced quality of patient care. Physician scheduling software allows each clinician to sync their own schedule with their iPhone or other mobile device and calendaring software like iCal or Outlook to ensure they have the most current schedule at all times.
Scheduling Across Multiple Sites When medical groups span across various emergency departments, complexities in the scheduling system can arise. Considerations to take include:
- Double-booking
- Payroll
- Salaries
- Travel preferences
- Bonus time
- Work preferences
Keeping these factors into consideration ensures your team is motivated and works efficiently. Emergency physician scheduling software stays on top of all your scheduling logic like staffing requirements, payroll and preferences for each clinician at each site. This eliminates the need for you to track this data manually which can consume hours of your time.
Making the decision to improve your ER department scheduling system, is a commitment. Although efficient scheduling involves complex workflows and logic, your facility can realize significant benefits by implementing shift scheduling software. You'll improve patient care through efficient coverage of more motivated and well-rested staff while maintaining an effective scheduling budget.
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