MetricAid

Physician rotas built by people, with software to help

Hospital emergency departments and other medical groups have schedules with many moving parts: preferences, availability, shift types and coverage rules. MetricAid approaches the problem as a managed service. Its team builds physician schedules with computer assistance, and the company says this is what separates it from tools that run on a fixed rule set and need a lot of manual correction afterwards.

Computer-assisted, not fully automated

According to MetricAid, one-click scheduling cannot produce a good emergency department rota because the rules change and no two schedules should be built alike. It uses automation where that helps and relies on human schedulers who learn each team's makeup and needs. The company says its method draws on years of work with hospitals around the world, and its site now cites more than 250 healthcare facilities worldwide.

Three packages and shared tooling

The service comes in three packages: Standard, Advanced and Advanced + EM, and a comparison table on the original site set out the features of each. Every package includes:

• a web-based scheduling tool where physicians enter their preferences, so the schedule can account for their quality of life as well as department needs;
• a native mobile application;
• a client services team available for questions about the tool and about scheduling practice.

How the company runs support and development

MetricAid says its client services staff answer calls and emails seven days a week, and that a client success group checks in regularly. Its developers sit alongside that group, so a request for a bug fix, a new feature or a performance change is passed on directly, which the company says keeps the product changing to suit its users.

The company describes the aim as schedules that improve department performance, patient experience and doctors' work-life balance, while taking the administrative burden off clinical staff.

MetricAid is physician scheduling software paired with human schedulers. Its team builds complex medical department schedules on a managed basis, taking the work off clinical staff and relying on experience with hospitals around the world.

What MetricAid offers

• Managed scheduling: experts build rotas with computer assistance.
• Tailored schedules: they account for each team's particular needs rather than a fixed rule set.
• Scheduling software: tools sit alongside the service.

Customers and markets

Hospitals and healthcare facilities, especially departments with complicated physician rotas that simple automated tools struggle to handle. The site states it serves over 250 facilities worldwide.

Key facts

• Approach: human experts working with software, rather than purely rule-based automation.