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Is making your department's call schedule like trying to fit square pegs into round holes?
Are you dealing with complex rules and multiple staff requests while trying to balance staffing needs and keeping the schedule fair?
Scheduling a large group of physicians can be frustrating, time consuming and unrewarding.
We understand the importance that a fair schedule and "On Call" shifts play in physician's busy lives.
Allowing staff to choose their work leads to improved workplace satisfaction.
Reduce the effort of schedule creation and maintenance by 80%!
We provide individual flexibility for staff members, while satisfying corporate needs.
Our leading edge technology, unique picklist algorithm, optimal call spacing algorithm and mobile picklist sets us apart from other scheduling software.
Physician Workforce Scheduling featuring Mobile Picklist
Contact Us!Pattern based system handles complex schedules and generates months of schedules in seconds. We use unique algorithms not provided by other solutions.
Produce statistical reports to demonstrate that work is being divided fairly. The scheduling workbench identifies conflicts quickly.
Make requests, post shifts to the opportunity board, or swap shifts. Friends and family can subscribe directly to your schedule with iCal.
Integration with hospital surgical booking imports data seamlessly. Staff are contacted automatically and choose their work with their mobile device. On completion, the final list is emailed.
Uses email, SMS, push notification and automated phone calls to alert you when it is your turn to pick. Choose from anywhere you have internet access!
Building Schedule
Create
Thanks to powerful cloud computers, complex schedules are built within seconds.
We can handle very complex groups with target percentage rules, linked shifts, multiple pattern rules and staff rules.
We have unique algorithms such as the daily picklist generator and optimum call spacing that are not found in other programs.
Staff can make shift requests, which can be approved or denied by the scheduler.
All these powerful features result in a fairer schedule and happier staff.
At the touch of a button, create and review future schedules. Our scheduling planner and workbench provide the tools to instantly verify the quality of the schedule produced.
Imagine building your next department schedule in seconds!
Scheduling Workbench
Keep it Fair
The schedule can be built using previous statistics to balance work over longer time frames.
There are a variety of online and printed statistical reports to demonstrate that work is being divided fairly. Identify outlying statistics quickly.
The scheduler can create beautiful printed reports which can be emailed to department members for review.
It's Personal
Designed to respect individual staff needs, while balancing overall work requirements. Beautiful display of your work calendar, which can be shared with your friends and family via iCal.
Staff can submit shift requests for upcoming schedules like No Call, days off or request to be assigned certain shifts.
Staff can post shifts to the opportunity board and automatically notify all group members by email. This allows staff to give up their call fairly, allowing other staff equal opportunity to extra work.
We have rules that allow staff members preference over locum physicians in picking up this extra work.
Fairly balance staff that work 60%, 80% or 100%.
Let us help you achieve work-life balance in your schedule.
Share
A variety of features facilitate communication between group members and other staff at the hospital.
Telecommunications can access the On Call schedule online. Always know the latest call schedule! Physicians can be phoned or SMS messaged directly.
Centralized contact information, email or message staff online. Share files with your staff in the private document repository.
Shift Changes
Staff are able to make their own schedule changes directly. They can be reviewed by the scheduler before they are finalized.
This makes individual staff accountable for their own changes, greatly reducing the amount of work for the scheduler between schedule builds.
There is a detailed log of any changes made to the schedule and staff involved are updated by email.
Calendar Integration
Subscribe your phone's calendar directly to ischedule.MD
Access your work schedule as part of your overall daily planning.
Share your work schedule with friends and family!
Mobile Picklist
Innovation in Anesthesia Scheduling
The mobile picklist replaces the system of passing around a paper list for staff to choose their upcoming work.
No more pens, paper or lost picklists!
We integrate directly to the hospital surgical booking system, so there is no need to enter the room data.
All patient identifying data is removed prior to upload.
Also, it accommodates shifts that are not in the hospital system.
In the morning, the list and daily notes are reviewed and paired with the pre-scheduled pick order.
Staff may be added, removed or re-ordered easily. The room information may be modified or notes added.
When the list starts, staff that are on the current list receive an email that they will be picking that day.
Staff are notified by their prior preference of SMS text messages, emails, and automated voice calling.
Staff have the option of setting a proxy to choose their work.
Staff can choose from any device - mobile phone, tablet or desktop. They can review the remaining choices and receive a confirmation email
after they have made their selection. The next staff is contacted according to their pick order.
The system is entirely automated. The administrator can easily see the progress of the list, change the order, or pick for staff.
The group can set a time limit for how long a staff gets to pick before requesting intervention.
Staff average about 15 minutes to respond. Lists of 20 picks or more are easily completed in 4-8 hours.
Hours of operation are customizable by group and by individual staff.
On completion of the list, it is emailed to staff and the list administrator.
For groups that are not currently using a picklist for assignment, we do offer a paper version that can be trialed before upgrading to the full mobile picklist.
Staff to choose their work!
Custom Notifications
Allows staff to set personal preferences about how they will be notified to choose their list. Want an email and SMS message when it it your turn to pick? Maybe a reminder phone call in 30 minutes to your cell phone? Perhaps you are on vacation and would like to have another staff member choose your list? All this is possible with ischedule.MD's highly customizable notification settings.
Works Across Modern Devices
ischedule.MD is a leading edge web application that supports the latest versions of Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Internet Explorer. Use ischedule.MD on your mobile phone, tablet, laptop or desktop. Use Mac or PC, iPhone, Android, or Blackberry. You can use it anytime and anywhere you have connection to the internet. No dedicated hardware to buy and no software updates to install. We recommend the latest version of Google Chrome for the best experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
We hope so! Currently, we schedule complex groups of over 30 staff and 10 locums with variable full time equivalents, skill sets and different types of call.
We have a unique picklist algorithm that balances everything fairly.
We specialize in Anesthesiology scheduling, however, our scheduling system can be used by any healthcare group to create fair schedules.
It is very customizable to any group practice scenario.
We are willing to work with you to solve any custom requirements. Our goal is to reduce your work in creating and maintaining the schedule by at least 80%!
We understand the issues of complex physician scheduling. We believe in fairness, transparency and accountability.
How can we help?
The standard edition includes all online scheduling features: requests, opportunity board, shift swaps, statistics, direct iCal access, private document library, group email address, schedule planner and workbench.
There is a one-time setup fee and a recurring monthly subscription fee (minimum three month commitment) based on the number of users. Implementation time is 2-4 weeks depending on the complexity of your schedule.
The mobile picklist system is an optional feature.
Full automation requires integration with your hospital's surgical booking software.
There is an additional setup fee and a higher monthly subscription fee.
Due to the work involved in implementation and staff training there is a six month minimum commitment for the mobile picklist.
Depending on your choice, the yearly cost for each staff member ranges from one to two hours of paid clinical time.
We feel the system pays for itself in time saved, fair distribution of work and ability to have the schedule you want.
Your time is valuable, especially a physician chief or scheduler!
Yes! We offer a "progressive build" that allows you to build schedules in as many stages as you wish. For example, perhaps you wish to hand assign a special clinic day to certain physicians. This can be entered into the schedule and the engine can build around these assignments. Another example is that you might want the schedule to create certain assignments, then circulate this partial schedule to hand assign some shifts. Once these shifts are entered, the scheduling engine could complete the entire schedule. We can build as much or as little of your schedule as you choose.
80% of our current users own Apple iPhones and as a result we recommend the iPhone platform for users considering a mobile phone.
However, most features of ischedule.MD will work on newer devices such as Android, Blackberry or Windows phones.
Even a phone without internet access could be used to receive the notifications, then the user can login to a nearby computer to select their list.
Some users purchase or borrow phones without a SIM card and use the hospital WiFi to receive their notifications without the cost of a monthly mobile bill.
Staff FTE by day of the week
The Cardiac group of physicians only take ORCALL on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday at 80% for Dr. X and 60% for Dr. Y, with a maximum of 5 shifts for Dr. Y.
Linked shifts
The staff that does ORCALL on Friday night does daytime OR on Sundays
Assigned by Template
Week one schedule CVOR on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, week two schedule CVOR on Monday and Wednesday.
Pattern matching rules
Don't assign staff two weekend calls in a row
Optimal Call Spacing
When possible space all call shifts as far apart as possible for all staff
Picklist
Equally balance the picklist by work percentage and exclude locum physicians from picks 1,2,3 and 4.
Staff Rules
If the physician being assigned ORCALL likes 16hour call and staffing balance is +1, then assign this physician OFF before ORCALL.
When Dr. X is on ORCALL, schedule Dr. Y on Backup Call.
Custom
If you can think it, we can build it!
It depends on the complexity of your group and the number of days in your schedule.
Thanks to our powerful cloud computers and efficient algorithms, a complex 30 staff group with multiple shifts and calls can generate 3 months of schedule (a total of 2,700 cells) in as little as 5 seconds!
You won't believe it, until you see it!
We know physician scheduling best!
ischedule.MD was developed by an Anesthesiologist, who understands the unique needs of the most complex physician scheduling.
We are using leading edge technology with time proven algorithms (over fifteen years) for call spacing and picklist system.
This can not be found in competitors.
We are the first to offer a complete system that will create, maintain your schedule and allow staff to choose their work with the mobile picklist! We offer real value to a very challenging problem.
ischedule.md was built by a physician for other physicians.
We have a vacation module that allows staff to select their weeks of vacation, which can be reviewed by the scheduler.
There are many different ways this module can function based on how vacations are allocated in your department.
Each staff may be granted a certain amount of vacation weeks. Each week may be assigned an expected maximum vacation quota.
Alteratively, there is an "open vacation mode" that allows staff to select any weeks they wish (subject to review by the scheduler.)
Vacations are important. We believe in work-life balance!
What are people saying?
Since using ischedule.MD we have experienced a paradigm shift in our day to day operations. ischedule.MD gives each physician in our department both the freedom and responsibility for selecting their own work assignments. The Master Schedule view helps us plan our daily staffing needs several weeks ahead and then adjust shifts to reduce our use of locum staff. ischedule.MD does a great job of decentralizing scheduling from one individual to each and every member of the department. The schedule planning feature uses historical call data together with individually made requests to create a three month work schedule in seconds. We have been able to integrate seamlessly with both ORSOS and Cerner Surginet platforms. Daily scripts securely update ischedule.MD to ensure accurate list information without risking patient confidentiality. It would be difficult to imagine scheduling our large department without ischedule.MD.
Chief, Department of Anesthesiology
North York General Hospital
When we had a paper-based picklist, I used to spend hours contacting staff members to make their choice. Now, ischedule.MD saves me many hours each week in completing the daily pick list of 28 staff members in an organized and efficient manner. It is completely automated and very easy to use. The staff seem very happy with the new system.
Administrative Assistant
North York General Hospital
Before starting with ischedule.MD, two of our staff were spending over 40 hours every three months building the schedule. Now that job has been almost completely eliminated. We were up and running with the new system in less than 3 weeks after making the decision to use ischedule.MD. We received great support with customizing our schedule and the ischedule.MD team produced an electronic survey to learn about our group and our needs. We are now very excited to be implementing the final phase, the Mobile Picklist. Administrative and IT staff were very receptive and helpful to be moving forward with such an innovative program. ischedule.MD has transformed our scheduling from excel spreadsheets to the latest web technology!
Chief, Department of Anesthesia
Mackenzie Health Hospital
At our hospital, fairness and transparency are essential to our scheduling. Before we started with ischedule.MD, I was using a spreadsheet program to build our schedule. Each 3-4 month schedule would take over 30 hours to generate, not to mention the daily scheduling hassles of determining staff balance, overseeing trades, and managing locums. ischedule.MD has simplified all that and allows me to focus on more relevant global scheduling matters. The “opportunity board” is so user-friendly and has allowed staff to effectively self-schedule, from anywhere in the world! It provides an easy forum for communications amongst staff and locums. The “master schedule” allows for a global view of staff balance, which helps with optimization of manpower. All for less than a cup of coffee a day!
Scheduler & Staff Physician
Trillium Health Partners
In 2008, I recommended ischedule.MD to my group to ensure that picks and call statistics were fair. It allowed staff members the ability to work part-time, which would have been a logistical nightmare for manual scheduling. ischedule.MD accommodates all of our scheduling rules including complex linked shifts, which can be easily changed as our department evolves. It is especially time saving now that staff can give up or switch their call, with no work on my part, despite now having 30 staff and 6 locums. I am able to verify the staffing balance on a real-time basis, ensuring we have sufficient staff, and accommodate time off requests. I am amazed at ischedule.MD's attention to detail. As a scheduler of a large physician group, I wholeheartedly recommend ischedule.MD to any department!
Scheduler & Staff Physician
North York General Hospital
The best part about ischedule.MD is that it can be accessed from anywhere. Picks can be done when I have a few free minutes in the OR, at home or on vacation...my choice. The faster process helps me plan my day well in advance. ischedule.MD is the culmination of over ten years of work to make scheduling easy, reliable, fair, and transparent. We could not go back to any other system!
Former Department Chief
North York General Hospital
I have been a co-scheduler in a medium size community hospital in the GTA for the last six years. As our Department grew from 10 to 15, so did the complexity of our schedule. On top of the OR, we added a consult clinic, endoscopy clinics, OBS / APS service, vacation requests and lieu days. In a four month schedule, we had over 1296 cells that needed to be assigned. Although we tried to publish working copies of the schedule as it was built, we would often receive calls from dissatisfied staff members due to errors and omissions from the manually generated schedule. I was about to give up with frustration! At the moment we needed it most, we discovered ischedule.MD, a scheduling program specific to our type of Anesthesia practice involving a picklist system. After demoing at our department meeting, ischedule.MD’s implementation team were very prompt, courteous and open to listen to our needs. The program has all of the features we need and the knowledge of scheduling offered by ischedule.MD is invaluable. We went live with our trial of ischedule.MD, the implementation has gone off without a hitch.
Scheduler, Staff Physician, Department of Anesthesia
Mackenzie Health Hospital
Since 2003, we have been providing scheduling solutions for leading edge hospitals.
Designed by a physician, our algorithms have been verified for fairness and improved over many years to provide optimal scheduling.
Using the latest in web development and technology, ischedule.MD was rebuilt to take advantage of the recent adoption of mobile devices by staff and hospitals.
We believe in fairness, transparency and providing staff choice in their work.
We look forward to helping with your scheduling needs.
Where in the world?
ischedule.MD's users have completed 194,395 picks! Assuming a paper based pick list system takes five minutes per staff, this has saved our customers $4,049,750! The map shows where staff have successfully used the mobile picklist. This demonstrates how well the system works and the importance for staff to have choice over their work. All features of ischedule.MD can be used anywhere that you have internet access.
Cloud based physician workforce scheduling featuring mobile picklist. Reduce the effort of schedule creation and maintenance by 80%! We believe in fair, transparent and accessible schedules that help physicians balance their busy lives. The innovative mobile picklist increases workplace satisfaction by providing staff choice over their work.