Automated On-Call Scheduling Software: Time to Abandon Spreadsheets

Still Wrestling with Paper Schedules? Three Reasons to Switch to Software

Scheduling on-call physicians is an integral facet of hospital administration. Traditionally, hospitals have utilized a central person or team using manual processes to create and distribute on-call schedules. Fielding handwritten notes, texts, phone calls, and faxes containing information that must be integrated into the schedule can lead to errors, and the process of distributing updated schedules among groups can be time-consuming. All in all, paper schedules and manual processes pose a significant organizational burden.

Here are three reasons to abandon spreadsheet scheduling and move to automated on-call scheduling software.

Saves money

In the long run, automated on-call scheduling software pays for itself many times over. The primary scheduler or scheduling team can be streamlined. This is so that the human resources currently devoted to manual processes can be reallocated to deliver greater return on investment. With manual processes, multiple departments print out multiple copies of an ever-changing schedule. This adds costs that negatively impact the hospital’s bottom line. In contrast, automated physician scheduling software produces schedules that are accessible online. This saves money by eliminating the need to print schedules. Plus, automation means that people up and down the organizational chart no longer have to hunt for the latest version of a schedule, thus enabling them to focus on more important tasks and creating major savings for the hospital.

Improves hospital employee satisfaction

Morale is important in any organization. When hospital employees make a call to the wrong physician, or in the wrong manner, it results in a stressful situation. With a complicated, manually updated on-call schedule, errors happen more frequently. This undermines employee confidence with the schedule and with each other. MDsyncNET’s on-call scheduling software delivers a real-time, up-to-the-minute schedule that accessible on the hospital intranet or online. Accurate schedules reduce errors and stress, and increase physician satisfaction.

Automated on-call scheduling software improves efficiency and accuracy

Keeping up with faxes, phone calls, hand-written schedules and spreadsheets is time-consuming. Not to mention it distracts hospital employees from doing their primary jobs well. By eliminating these manual, old-school processes and switching to automated software, staff can access and make changes to the schedule from any online browser. Whether a hospital employee is at the clinic, at home, or on the go, they can see the on-call schedule and make any necessary changes. An increase in efficiency and accuracy makes hopital operations run more smoothly and boosts the hospital’s bottom line.

Today, virtually every sector and industry is moving toward embracing cloud-based technology for a variety of business processes -- including staff scheduling. The healthcare industry is no different. So, if your facility is looking to save money, improve employee satisfaction and improve the efficiency and accuracy of automated on-call scheduling software, book a demo with MDsyncNET.