Curbing Healthcare Workflow Inefficiencies with Scheduling Software
Albert Einstein famously said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
A strategic plan forms the foundation of success for any healthcare organization. That strategic plan includes goals, objectives, metrics, and key performance indicators. All too often, though, revenue goals or expense cutbacks fail to materialize. Why? Because healthcare workflow inefficiencies are neither accounted for nor corrected. Essentially, the organization is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
Healthcare Workflow Inefficiencies in Scheduling
This phenomenon is routinely seen in physician scheduling workflows. Facilities and hospital systems that use pen-and-paper or Excel spreadsheets to schedule physicians are stuck in an endless cycle of inefficiency. As soon as a pristine schedule is created, it becomes obsolete. Emails, phone messages, and texts bearing notifications of time off, illnesses, and swap requests flood the scheduler. The scheduler engages in a never-ending quest to update and distribute newer, more accurate schedules, but communication inevitably breaks down along the way.
The result? The wrong physician may be called, or the right physician may be called at the wrong number, leaving patients in limbo and call center staff frazzled.
The truth is, scheduling snafus aren’t inevitable. Neither are inefficient workflows. Cloud-based physician scheduling software does more than smooth out the rough edges; instead, it transforms workflows. When software is implemented, the number of hours devoted to scheduling dwindles. Change requests can be made in real time, making accurate, up-to-the-minute schedules accessible 24/7 to authorized users on desktop or mobile devices.
MDsyncNET’s scheduling software is designed to create efficient scheduling workflows. In doing so, patient safety is positively impacted, physicians have confidence in the accuracy of their schedules, and call center staff breathe easier. Best of all, the software can be quickly implemented, is simple to learn, and delivers a return on investment within two or three months. In a nutshell, MDsyncNET supports one goal outlined in virtually every healthcare organization’s strategic plan: doing more with less.