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The emergency department of any hospital is one of the most sensitive and functional departments. The physician works around the clock to provide emergency care to patients, as a result, the scheduling of the emergency department must be highly efficient. However, this is not the case when it comes to emergency medicine scheduling.
Right from the time the idea of hospital scheduling came into existence, emergency room scheduling has been one of the most difficult aspects of all physician scheduling, and it only seems to be getting more difficult. There are so many reasons for this, with one being that there are more physicians and groups in the ER department to schedule than there are in any other departments.
This article highlights the top five reasons why emergency room scheduling is so difficult and the best way to manage these situations.
Why Emergency Room Scheduling Is Not So Easy
These are why hospitals may find it challenging to schedule the emergency room.
1) The Use of a Manual Scheduling System
Many hospitals today still use Excel sheets, Spreadsheets, and paper and pen ways to create ER schedules. Although it is somewhat efficient, creating and adjusting the schedule is challenging and time-consuming. Given the large number of physicians present in the ER department, mistakes are bound to happen such as clashes in time slots, being scheduled twice, etc. When mistakes like this occur, having to make corrections can often result in creating a new schedule.
2) Emergency Rooms Are Open 24/7
Unlike other departments in the hospital that have limited hours of operation, the emergency room opens 24 hours per day, every week, and throughout the year. This implies that the department needs physicians to be available at every minute.
As a result, schedulers have to consider various factors such as physician satisfaction, cost-effective care, amount of workload, etc. For short-staffed hospitals, having to create a schedule that is favorable to the hospital and the physician is challenging. In many cases, they may need to choose between keeping their emergency room open throughout and losing their professional to stress and burnout or vice versa.
3) Use of Temporary Physicians
Temporary physicians are often needed to cover shifts because of a staff shortage, vacations, or unexpected sick leaves. The shifts of these temporary physicians must be incorporated into the schedule; this is not easy because new people will always be introduced to the complex schedule.
4) Last-Minute Changes And Communication
The nature of the emergency room is such that last-minute changes are a constant reality. Why is this so? Emergency patients arrive unexpectedly, so adjustments in physician scheduling will often become imperative.
5) Cost-Effective Scheduling
Hospitals are now trying to be careful with their money and do more with less. This means they must balance what patients need and what suits their finances. So, sometimes, in a single shift, you might see more family doctors or internal medicine doctors who know about emergency care than certified emergency doctors.
Managing money and doctors' needs simultaneously can make the schedule more complicated.
6) Technology
Some hospitals' emergency medical records are technologically "a work in progress" as the technologies or software to increase efficiency are not yet available. As such, there will always be a need for a physical meeting with the doctor, which can bog down the emergency unit.
How Can Emergency Room Scheduling Get Easier?
The use of scheduling software is highly recommended. It is a simple, error-free, and seamless way to create and navigate complex and many facets of emergency room scheduling effectively.
To get scheduling software that will help you customize scheduling easily within a flexible schedule, contact us at ByteBloc today.
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