The Scheduler adds major value to busy endoscopy units that rely on A4 page-day diaries and the intimate knowledge that booking clerks have of the unit’s operation. Put simply, it computerises the process of booking patients.
At its most basic it stores a combination of rules for the rooms, endoscopists and lists, in order to search for the next available slots.
But it is much more sophisticated than that. It keeps track of cancellations and their reasons, it prevents lists being overbooked or patients being incorrectly booked to the wrong endoscopists, it can move whole lists in a couple of mouse clicks, and it produces the patient-lists that are pasted up in each room.
Additional features include the ability to see capacity on a day, week and monthly overview and the ability to book male & female lists.
The Scheduler can be linked into the Patient Administration System (PAS) in one of two ways. At its simplest patients can be manually downloaded into Lists. At its most sophisticated the whole waiting list can be transferred electronically from PAS.
The clerks then book the patient to come in (TCI), by searching for available slots. No more leafing through diary pages! Letters can be produced for the patients and the TCI data can be sent back to PAS. The Scheduler then becomes an intimate part of the Trust’s/Health Board’s waiting list management.
The Scheduler has been designed by our in-house Service Manager, who has many years’ experience in the NHS as an Endoscopy Unit Manager.