In this era of diminishing resources to provide an increasingly complex level of care, it has become essential to have good control of staff scheduling. For years, the nursing home field has relied on pencil and paper schedules and time consuming attendance cards. More recently, some facilities have automated these processes using spreadsheets on computers. But the highly efficient and adaptable automated scheduling systems long used by our acute care sisters were only a dream. Eventually, some automated scheduling software packages became available for the nursing homes, but to keep the costs down they were not very sophisticated and did not offer a good range of capabilities. More recently, a new generation of staffing software products have become available that are both reasonable in cost, and robust in capacity and capabilities.
With this new generation of easy to use software, coupled by it's reduced cost as a web based product, nursing homes are now able to enjoy the full power of automated scheduling only experienced by hospitals to date. One such system is the Intellicost Staff Scheduling system. Continuing Care InSite has used this system, and finds it has these advantages over other systems:
It helps the user optimize the schedule, not just repeat the same patterns that you do on a paper schedule or spreadsheet
It is web-based and is accessible from home on weekends and evenings, as well as at the facility
It facilitates cost effective decision-making about replacements of sick calls
It creates useful daily, weekly, and monthly reports
It provides an option for documenting reasons behind staffing changes so other users know what happened
It facilitates effective management of vacation and holiday time
Click logo above to visit Intellicost website
What to Look for When Shopping for an Automated Scheduling System
When shopping for an automated scheduling system, here are some important points to keep in mind:
Look for a system built specifically for long term care-- generic systems lack the tools that will be most helpful to you
Look for enterprise-wide reporting capabilities with a central data base
Look for a fully integrated time and attendance reporting system, with time clock interface-- preferably with the capability of biometric clocking in and out (e.g. palm or fingerprint reader)
Look for a product that will integrate with other systems and not just the company's own proprietary time clock system
For an article on web-based scheduling systems in Nursing Homes Magazine, CLICK HERE Note: The contact info at the end of this 2004 article is no longer current. If you wish to contact the author, please use the email address or feedback form at the bottom of this page.
For more information, contact Stan Rosen, President of Intellicost Enterprise, Inc. of Owings Mills, MD. Phone 914-941-9200, or fill out the response form below and hit the "send".
