Equity and Efficiency in On-Call Physician Scheduling

In parts 1 and 2 of this blog series, I introduced the importance of having a robust policy, ensuring that your on-call physician scheduling software has the flexibility you require, and ensuring transparency with scheduling changes. I’d like to close out this three-part blog series with some tips for achieving equity and efficiency in on-call physician scheduling.

Read on or download this e-book for a complete discussion of the issues featured in this blog series, and much more. 

Ensure On-call Scheduling is Equitable

Humans are hard to please. Some on-call slots are more desirable than others, so a little grumbling is to be expected. But balancing the more preferable slots with those that are less attractive can go a long way to ensuring hospital staff satisfaction – a topic that continues to be top of mind, even four years after the pandemic.

To do so, on-call schedulers must take the long view; they must have visibility into which physicians are taking calls not only week to week, but also quarter to quarter and throughout the calendar year to ensure equitable scheduling during popular holidays.

As you evaluate on-call physician scheduling software, make sure your solution includes:

• Short- and long-term calendar views.
• Comparison reports that tally how many calls have been taken by each physician.
• Built-in tools for calculating physician payments. 
• Exportable shift counts to facilitate accurate physician payments through your preferred HR or financial software.
• A user-friendly interface that allows administrators to see “equity at a glance” whether through a web browser or mobile app.   

Reduce Manual Processes

As younger and more tech savvy administrative staff enter the profession, medical facilities increasingly rely on spreadsheets and similar tools to create their on-call schedules. While this is a step in the right direction over paper and pencil, it’s still a manual process to a large degree. 

And there are still facilities that task one or two individuals with manually entering in information or making changes collected from phone calls, text messages, emails, voicemails, and even faxes. These staff members must often print out the on-call schedules and post them in several places within the facility. 

If any of these processes sound familiar, your organization might be a good candidate for today’s advanced on-call physician scheduling software. As you evaluate options, look for these features to reduce manual work:

• Real-time integrations with your organization’s EHR and intranet, available to everyone 24/7. 
• A mobile app so anyone can access the schedule anywhere.
• Robust options for automatically updating stakeholders or, in rare cases, manually.
• Built-in help features such as FAQs or training materials.
• Templates to save administrative staff time and effort.

Some Final Thoughts

I hope you’ve enjoyed this three-part series on physician scheduling. And, I hope you download our e-book on this topic. For now, let me leave you with some final thoughts about finding the right solution for your unique business needs. 

To ensure you effectively deliver on your “no-patient-waiting” strategy, choosing the right partner is just as important as the on-call scheduling platform itself. This is especially important for hospitals and health systems that rely on a mix of employed and affiliated physicians, as many have unique needs and business goals that can’t be achieved by a one-size-fits-all solution. When evaluating vendors, look for: 

• The ability to customize the software to meet your unique business goals
• Flexibility to “right-size” your solution based on the number of physicians and administrators in your organization.
• Implementation processes to get you up and running in days, not weeks.
• The ability to demonstrate value in weeks, not months.
• Easy access to customer support and technical assistance.
• A responsive partner who actively seeks your input on product enhancements.

When it comes to on-call scheduling, hospitals know the importance of having a “single source of truth.” Those who use today’s advanced technology to make the most of their limited resources gain a significant advantage in serving their community and ensuring high levels of patient and staff satisfaction.

*Brad Goldsmith is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO of MDsyncNET.

For over 20 years, MDsyncNET has been at the forefront of providing real-time on-call physician scheduling software designed to enhance hospital on-call transparency, flexibility, and efficiency. Our cloud-based solution ensures accurate schedules, reduces left-without-being-seen rates, and boosts physician satisfaction by eliminating unnecessary calls to the wrong provider.