Fixing a Broken System Through Smarter Scheduling: An Empathetic Approach

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When one thinks about healthcare, images of doctors, patients, charts and equipment abound. But most people don’t think about math — at least not beyond prognosis and treatment outcomes.

It may come as a surprise, then, that scheduling poses one of the hardest practical math problems to solve, particularly as you scale the number of healthcare professionals and patients involved. Scientifically speaking, scheduling is rife with non-deterministic polynomials, meaning that as you go from 10 to 20 people, the complexity of scheduling doesn’t just double — it grows exponentially, causing significant headaches and potentially impacting care for generations.

Healthcare is a dynamic, often chaotic field that prevents simple algorithms from effectively addressing scheduling issues and inefficiencies. A big reason why is that one’s humanity is as important as data and science.

I recently listened to a podcast where Professor Shahram Yousefi, Ph.D., PEng, discussed the scheduling crisis in healthcare and his proposed solutions. Here’s what stood out.

Why Scheduling Matters

The challenges facing the U.S. healthcare system are well-documented. The Commonwealth Fund’s Mirror, Mirror 2021 report shows that the U.S. healthcare system is at the bottom rung in access to care, administrative efficiency, equity, and health outcomes. The Global Health Security Index ranks the U.S. 32 out of 36 countries in terms of readiness for global health to public emergencies. And according to a survey by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, almost 900,000 nurses will have left the industry by 2027. To put it simply, about one in five of the nation’s 4.5 million registered nurses are thinking about quitting during this period, and there are not enough nurses being recruited and trained to replace them.

Why is this happening? It all comes back to the unhealthy environments in which we demand our healthcare professionals work.

“Rather than calling them heroes and expecting them to go beyond what is humanly possible, we must acknowledge that clinicians are human beings like you and me, and they need balance in their life,” noted Yousefi.

It’s a problem we must tackle because the stress, anxiety and pressures healthcare professionals experience not only lead to early exits from careers they’ve devoted years to but also can compromise patients; a single bad decision due to fatigue can lead to dire consequences.

Yousefi aims to solve this with a balance of mathematical precision and human empathy.

First Steps

Many healthcare facilities schedule their staff with spreadsheets or rudimentary software. Few schedulers, clinicians or patients would give these mechanisms rave reviews. They are unwieldy and hard to update, often leaving room for error, longer wait times, overbooking, and poor facility utilization.

Fortunately, technology is evolving, particularly in AI and machine learning. AI can reduce the time spent on scheduling by 80%. This time, given back to physicians, translates to more patient care. Factor in the quality-of-life benefits for all personnel, and that’s a powerful return. It seemingly solves the math problem.

However, this promise alone isn’t enough. Organizations often undergo expensive system migrations and training only to be disappointed. Why? Because the human element continues to be ignored. If users are uncertain or resistant, it’s a non-starter. Similarly, if software fails to assign schedules equitably, physicians and nurses are unlikely to embrace it.

A New Approach

While AI is crucial, scheduling software design must also address questions like: How do we allow healthcare professionals to participate in scheduling in a way that makes sense for them? How can it minimize work-life conflicts and accommodate their needs? In short, how do we ask software to become more humane?

Yousefi, who relied on mathematical and algorithmic approaches throughout his career, was inspired to try something different by leaning into his own experiences. Growing up during the Iran-Iraq War, he was influenced by the resilience and resourcefulness required to navigate difficult periods. This, combined with his own near-fatal healthcare experience, gives him a fresh perspective on scheduling.

Yousefi had the radical idea to change what we consider the minimum viable product (MVP). Most software companies rush the cheapest, quickest solution to market, but Yousefi instead strives for relevance through collaboration.

With his company, Mesh AI, he “wanted to make sure that people who are going to end up sitting behind their mobile phones and computers using the product really influence the product roadmap and what the definition of an MVP should be. So, we brought people in healthcare to help us build it,” he shared. His team knew the approach was effective when people kept using it, even after reporting flaws.

The company has continued to evolve its product with the help of physician collaborators. As such, the concept of collaborative scheduling sits at its core. Unlike traditional methods that often feel like a top-down imposition, collaborative scheduling transforms the process into a fluid conversation between all stakeholders. By incorporating the preferences and availability of physicians, as well as organizational rules and potential conflicts, Mesh AI creates schedules that are efficient, fair and transparent.

The result is a new category: collaborative scheduling — reshaping dynamics where it doesn’t drain resources or impact the bottom line. Instead, it metamorphosizes into a fluid conversation and collaboration that eases burdens on healthcare professionals. This leads to less burnout, better work-life balance, safer work environments, and ultimately, a higher standard of care.

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Pramila Srinivasan
CharmHealth

Pramila Srinivasan, Ph.D., CEO, CharmHealth

CharmHealth
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