A conceptual model for provider scheduling: insights from an EHR implementation.

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Clinical Workflow Optimization
• Electronic Health Records

Background:

• Integrating primary and consulting physician schedules into inpatient electronic health records (EHRs) is crucial for efficient patient care.
• Existing systems often lack seamless connectivity, hindering real-time access to provider information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a conceptual model and standardized definitions for integrating inpatient physician schedules into the EHR.
• To demonstrate how this integration supports patient-centered communication and improves workflow.

Main Methods:

• Transitioned to the Epic EHR, implementing modules for schedule integration.
• Developed a crosswalk tool for data extraction, transformation, and loading from external scheduling systems.
• Mapped over 2000 shifts to nearly 700 teams across 15 facilities.

Main Results:

• Achieved high utilization with an average of 6500 daily on-call provider searches post-implementation.
• Developed a conceptual model defining 11 key terms for inpatient provider scheduling.
• Successfully integrated real-time scheduling data into the EHR.

Conclusions:

• The developed definitions and conceptual model effectively represent the inpatient provider scheduling domain.
• Standardized terminology facilitates the integration of scheduling data into EHRs, promoting interoperability.
• High utilization and low defect rates validate the successful implementation.