Centralized On-Call Coordination System for Medical Scheduling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manual maintenance of on-call schedules for medical providers at various facilities is time-consuming and prone to errors, leading to confusion and inefficiencies in determining provider availability and coverage.
Innovation Solution
A centralized on-call coordination system that receives requests to view schedules, queries schedule data, and configures on-call schedules based on user device characteristics and access permissions, facilitating communication and data transfer across multiple systems to create a unified and up-to-date on-call schedule.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual maintenance of on-call schedules is used, then flexibility in schedule creation is maintained, but administrative time and effort increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service scheduling where providers automatically receive schedule notifications and can view their on-call assignments without administrative intervention. The centralized system automatically distributes schedule data to multiple locations, eliminating manual maintenance requirements and reducing administrative time investment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical processes (paper-based or electronic spreadsheet management) with an automated computerized system that queries schedule data, processes provider availability, and distributes schedules across multiple locations automatically, dramatically improving productivity while reducing time loss.
2Reliability
If centralized schedule data is implemented, then accuracy and accessibility of on-call information improve, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The centralized schedule data system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it stores provider availability information, generates on-call assignments, distributes schedules to multiple locations, and provides real-time updates. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require multiple separate systems, maintaining reliability while managing complexity through integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces a centralized schedule database as an intermediary layer between providers and multiple facility locations. This intermediary consolidates schedule data and distributes it uniformly, ensuring accuracy across all locations while simplifying the overall architecture by providing a single source of truth rather than multiple independent scheduling systems.
3Loss of information
If real-time schedule updates are provided, then provider availability information remains current, but data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-calculating and pre-distributing schedule data to multiple locations before it is needed. Schedule updates are prepared in advance and pushed to all relevant systems proactively, ensuring information currency without requiring continuous real-time processing. This reduces data processing requirements by batching updates rather than continuously synchronizing data.
Solution Approach 2:
The centralized system maintains continuous availability of schedule data through persistent database connections and automated update mechanisms. Rather than periodic batch updates, the system ensures continuous currency of information while optimizing processing by only transmitting changed data elements, reducing overall data processing requirements while maintaining real-time accuracy.
4Ease of operation
If customized schedule views are generated based on user device characteristics, then user experience and accessibility improve, but processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by customizing schedule displays according to specific user device characteristics and provider roles. Each user receives a tailored view optimized for their device type (mobile, tablet, desktop) and specific needs (provider view, administrative view, facility view). This customization improves ease of operation by presenting information in the most accessible format for each user while using efficient query parameters to minimize processing time.
Data Source
AI summary
An example method for generating and coordinating a centralized on call schedule showing on call events includes receiving, at an on call coordination system, a request from a user device to view an on call schedule associated with an identifier and querying, by the on call coordination system, schedule data for on call events using the identifier received with the request. The method further includes configuring the on call schedule based on the on call events received from the schedule data responsive to the query, where the on call schedule is further configured based on a characteristic associated with the user device. The method further includes configuring the on call schedule according to a user interface configuration. The method further includes transmitting the configured schedule to the user device.