Productivity
|By Erik Sunset, April 25, 2023 - 4 min read
Creating your healthcare organization’s on call calendar can feel like a chore. Mainly, because it is! But, as a medical professional, you know how important it is to have an accurate and up to date on call calendar. In a 2016 survey, the MGMA reported that 36% of respondents spent anywhere from three to five hours per month creating their MD on call calendar and almost 30% spent 2 or fewer hours doing so. This is no small task!
To set the stage with a clear definition, an on call calendar is used to track which doctors are on call at any given time, ensuring that patients receive timely and appropriate care. However, despite their importance, on call calendars can be a major source of frustration for medical teams. Continue reading to explore the three major pain points caused by having to create and maintain an on call calendar and see how technology can help mitigate them.
Creating an on call calendar is a time-consuming process, especially if you’re still doing it the 'old way.' Coordinating schedules, ensuring that everyone’s availability is accurately represented, and making sure that the calendar is accessible to everyone who needs it takes time and effort. Moreover, once the calendar is created, it may require frequent updates, further exacerbating the workload.
Fortunately, technology has made creating on call calendars much easier. With the right software, like DocBuddy’s On Call Calendar solution, you can automate the process, so schedules are updated in real-time. You can also easily sync schedules across multiple devices and platforms, so that everyone on your team can access the information they need, when they need it. Additionally, cloud-based on call scheduling like ours can help you ensure that the right provider is available at the right time, without any unnecessary back and forth.
After the on call calendar has been created, keeping it up to date and easily accessible to everyone who needs it can be challenging. Traditional on call calendars are often stored in an email client calendar, like Outlook, in a spreadsheet, or on paper, making them difficult to update in real-time or share easily. This can lead to confusion and miscommunication, which can ultimately impact patient care.
One solution to this problem is to switch to an online on call calendar platform like On Call Calendar. A platform like this allows you to store, retrieve, and update your on call calendar in real-time, from anywhere with an internet connection. A cloud-based on call calendar also allows you to control access to the calendar, so that only authorized personnel can make changes. Additionally, robust communication features simplify the process of sharing information with your team in real time.
One of the most critical pieces of information that is stored on an on call calendar is how to actually contact the on call provider. Traditional on call calendars often require doctors to manually input their contact information which can lead to errors, outdated information, or an outright lack of contact info.
Cloud-based on call calendar platforms can help solve this problem by providing a centralized location for all contact information. Doctors can input their contact information directly into the platform once, ensuring that it’s always up-to-date and available.
In conclusion, on call calendars can be a major source of frustration for medical professionals. However, technology has made it easier than ever to create, store, retrieve, and update on call calendars in real-time. By leveraging the right tools, medical teams can ensure that they always have an accurate, up-to-date on call calendar that’s easily accessible to everyone who needs it.
Check out our On Call Calendar product page for more information about our capabilities, listen to this episode of The DocBuddy Journal for more details, or set up a demo by filling out the form on this page.