Scheduling is a manual chore consuming valuable senior staff time and resulting in conflict and inequity. Computerized solutions which optimize scheduling are possible. Such a program, Doctors On Call Schedule (DOCS) which optimizes medium-scale scheduling has been developed and has proved successful in more than two hundred installations. The innovative slotting methodology and the combination of an accounting framework with Monte-Carlo simulation inherent in DOCS may be applicable to largescale scheduling. Efficient use of personnel, improved morale and customer service, as well as a reduction in scheduling time are benefits. Implemented nationwide, DOCS will free 2880 FTEs from administration to productive medical activity. University Hospitals of Cleveland Anesthesia Department serves as a model test site. Every hospital and medical organization will welcome a functional computerized solution to the scheduling burden.
Every hospital and medical organization will welcome a computerized staff scheduling system which cuts scheduling time by 75% and produces an optimum schedule which maximizes the efficient use of staff. Implemented nationwide, DOCS will free 2880 FTEs from administration to productive medical activity.
