The prevalence of e-rostering systems in managing the healthcare workforce asset : A scoping review

Abstract

This scoping review aimed to investigate to what extent there is existing and current research about e-rostering software solutions that automatize and optimize nurse staffing in healthcare. The need of healthcare personnel is growing globally and a complex and widespread nurse shortage exist. It is of primary concern to manage the current and future nursing staff well in order to provide a safe and effective healthcare service and to retain staff. Personnel scheduling and rostering is an essen-tial part of managing the workforce asset. The evolvement of new techniques, an increasing work-load, laws and regulations concerning workforce scheduling has made managing the workforce asset in healthcare even more challenging than before. Performing an accurate and efficient per-sonnel rostering is fundamental in achieving wellbeing among the nursing staff, ensuring good roster planning practices, generating cost savings, promoting an effective use of resources and en-abling nursing managers to focus on their core duties. Relevant research was reviewed comprehen-sively in order to find research on electronic software solutions for personnel planning in healthcare. A total of 371 studies were found using the keywords defined in Table 1. Based on the title a total of 332 studies were excluded from the study. An evident gap in the research area was discovered as only two (2) separate research findings on the topic were finally included in the study according to the inclusion criteria. An overview of a market analysis on e-rostering systems in Sweden was included. The findings point out and underline a substantial lack of research considering the vast field of healthcare and existing technology. Needs for future research emerged and is suggested to encompass benefits analyses, using methods that enable comparative analysis of the results as well as research on the systems’ implementation processes