"Schedule Change Really Disrupts a Lot of Things!": Never-Ending Physician Scheduling in a Multi-function Multi-setting Practice

We conducted a field study in a nephrology practice that performs multiple functions in a variety of distributed settings. The task of physician scheduling was done manually on paper by a single scheduler. Our study revealed challenges persistently encountered while using a plethora of fragmented, transient paper artifacts. Any changes made to existing schedules often impact other physicians' schedules, clinical functions, patients, and the practice operation. Finally, we highlight several issues for consideration in the design of a digital scheduling module for meeting the specific needs of distributed multi-function, multi-setting medical practices. These issues include increasing the level of transparency in the scheduling process, providing light-weight customization of schedules, and actively engaging patients in their health care and management.