For more than 30 years, Cardiac Specialists of Fairfield, Connecticut, has provided cardiology services to patients. The practice is known for its expert team and commitment to scientific advancement by partnering with local and national cardiac care centers.
Although Cardiac Specialists has maintained top-tier clinical expertise, the practice’s physician scheduling practices were outdated. The team relied on written notes and verbal exchanges, which led to inefficiencies and frustrations for all involved. Fortunately, the practice had the foresight to know it was time to implement physician scheduling software.
Cardiac Specialists Case Study
Learn how TigerConnect Physician Scheduling software improved communication between care providers.
The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) calls on-call physician scheduling “a thankless job,” albeit a necessary one. In addition, MGMA recommends that a physician be involved in on-call scheduling to make critical decisions.
At Cardiac Specialists, Dr. Robert Fishman handled on-call scheduling and vacation time-off requests for his physician colleagues. Cardiac Specialists lacked a structured process, which meant Dr. Fishman and the group’s practice manager would receive verbal scheduling requests, written notes, and emails. The two would work together to capture requests and create a schedule, but the process was cumbersome and far from ideal.
With five offices supporting three major hospitals, Cardiac Specialists needed to reinvent its on-call scheduling workflow. Dr. Fishman knew that physician scheduling software could provide a centralized space to capture requests and alleviate some of the administrative burdens of on-call physician scheduling. After exploring several call scheduler solutions, Dr. Fishman selected TigerConnect Physician Scheduling for Cardiac Specialists.
Delivering Immediate Value
After a short ramp-up period, physicians embraced the convenience of having up-to-date access to their schedules from anywhere. Physicians can easily view the status of their schedule requests and swap assignments with colleagues to ensure adequate coverage and patient care. TigerConnect Physician Scheduling improved communications between providers and cut down on frustrations and complaints.
Dr. Fishman reported that TigerConnect Physician Scheduling saved time for both himself and the practice administrator. Instead of needing to wade through schedule requests manually or respond to questions via email or phone, Dr. Fishman can review requests in a central source. Also, before TigerConnect Physician Scheduling, the practice administrator bore the brunt of the scheduling responsibility. Now, with an automated solution and established process, physicians are empowered to handle requests and use the correct channels.
Automating Physician Scheduling Can Transform Every Healthcare Practice
Without question, running a healthcare organization is a complex undertaking. Every step that reduces manual work and saves time gives care providers more opportunity to focus their energy on patients. Using software to automate physician scheduling eliminates unnecessary burdens and improves provider communications.
With TigerConnect Physician Scheduling, Cardiac Specialists gained advanced features such as:
Time-off requests – Physicians can submit and track requests from multiple devices, including mobile phones.
Custom rules – Scheduling managers can set rules to create fair, balanced schedules that prevent physician burnout.
Patient reschedules – Practices can manage the impacts of shifting physician schedules on patient scheduling.
Schedule swaps and changes – Physicians can handle schedule swaps with colleagues with ease.
Cardiac Specialists’ adoption of TigerConnect for its cardiologist physician scheduling has increased transparency about the scheduling process and improved communication between care providers. When colleagues collaborate, innovation, growth, and success are sure to follow.
Is it time to revitalize your on-call physician process?
Download the complete Cardiac Specialists case study to learn how TigerConnect Physician Scheduling transformed a critical operational process for a distributed, fast-growing practice.
