title: Virtual scheduling. A 21st-century approach to staffing.
abstract: Nursing professionals have been aware of the management challenges associated with hospital scheduling and staffing for years. However, today's changing work force, advances in technology, increased financial pressures, and regulatory oversight have put the scheduling process on health care's strategic agenda. Virtual staffing is the optimization of front-to-back hospital processes, integrating traditionally disparate systems to provide prospective and informed decisions about resource planning.
authors.affiliation: E-Staff, Inc., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.forename: Ellen Martin
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Gemme
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D005544:Forecasting; D006751:Hospital Information Systems / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D010562:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling Information Systems / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014584:User-Computer Interface