Managed service provider system for collaborative healthcare scheduling, credentialing, and compliance across shared suppliers

Abstract

An MSP platform provides contingent healthcare worker recruiting and shift assignation in a multilayered process of job order broadcasting, competency matching, proposals from healthcare agencies aka vendors, screening, compliance management, and onboard of each candidate. Each staff profile submitted has to go through multilayered review, approval, and orientation process. Additionally, each healthcare worker's calendar, credential, and compliance have to be managed across multiple employers to prevent scheduling conflict and compliance violations, and guaranteeing full visibility of all healthcare workers across the entire supply chain. MSPs (Managed Service Providers) have the ability to service a large number of facilities on whose behalf the MSPs generate job orders for contingent workforce, and manage fulfillment using suppliers (aka vendors) mapped to the facility being serviced. The supplier ecosystem is a cohesive block that may be shared across all MSPs, and several such MSP ecosystems should be allowed to coexist in the system. Suppliers can be tiered by geography allowing a large vendor network to track demand from one or more healthcare facilities across a single location or a group of vendor locations. Additionally, a facility that is part of an MSP should also be able to work directly with all suppliers either in conjunction with or independent of an MSP. Both long term assignments referred to as ‘Travel’ position, and on-demand shift assignments referred to as ‘Day-to-day’ position are serviceable under this centrally available software commonly referred to as ‘Software as a Service’.

1 . A computerized method for scheduling healthcare workers using a managed service provider (MSP) platform, the method comprising:
 providing a central processing unit for retrieving, obtaining, storing, and analyzing healthcare worker profiles and healthcare facility schedules, wherein the central processing unit executes instructions stored in a database and causes the storage and retrieval of healthcare worker profiles and healthcare facility schedules in a memory, wherein the central processing unit executes instructions stored in a database and causes analysis of healthcare worker profiles and healthcare facility schedules;   communicatively connecting the central processing unit to at least two entities, wherein the first entity is a healthcare worker's electronic device and the second entity is the healthcare facility's electronic device, wherein the communicative connection is obtained through a wireless network that is used for bi-directional communication between the healthcare worker and healthcare facility;   identifying shifts at a healthcare facility;   indicating criteria for the shifts, wherein a shift is a fixed block of time for a specific day of the week;   causing the central processing unit to electronically analyze and evaluate profiles of healthcare workers to match the criteria;   showing the matched healthcare workers on a display screen; and   contacting the matched healthcare workers using the wireless network.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising the central processing unit causing the display of a Virtual Calendar on one or more electronic devices, wherein the virtual calendar tracks availability of a healthcare worker and shift allocations across multiple staffing agencies and healthcare facilities, wherein the virtual calendar is directly tied to at least one job order, including information related to a job order, wherein the Virtual Calendar further provides real-time status of a healthcare worker availability allowing the MSP platform to have real-time capabilities in selecting, inviting and confirming candidates using automated job publication or VoIP, the real-time capabilities further allow the MSP platform to determine whether appropriate resources are available across a supplier ecosystem to handle contingencies when there is a no show of a regular healthcare employee or if the census change requires more healthcare workers to be assigned. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the Virtual Calendar is used by a healthcare facility to manage each regular as well as contracted employee. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the Virtual Calendar is accessible by all staffing agencies and healthcare facilities where the healthcare worker is employed, however the calendar viewed by an agency displays only those shifts that are contracted through the agency, and the calendar viewed by a healthcare facility displays only those shifts that are pertaining to the healthcare facility, thereby obfuscating all virtual calendar entries from the agency and healthcare facility that do not pertain to them. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising a Staffing Manager, wherein the Staffing Manager uses a 5 dimensional drilldown approach to include departments, job class, shift types, date, and time intersection, and displays the 5 dimensional data for multi-department, multi-class, multi-shift type, multi-date, and multi-worker selection to provide a view derived from existing shift allocations attached to job orders for the healthcare facility and virtual calendars of healthcare workers across the entire supplier ecosystem, wherein each shift has a backing timecard accessible by healthcare worker using mobile device. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising a Staffing Manager, wherein the Staffing Manager searches, invites, and confirms based on constructing date specific horizontal swim-lanes by available staff to provide a view used for distributing a multiday order between candidates by mix-and-match, with automated VoIP based interaction to confirm multiday availability, wherein the view is derived from the virtual calendars of healthcare workers across the entire supplier ecosystem, and wherein each shift has a backing timecard accessible by healthcare worker using mobile device. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising a Staffing Manager, wherein the Staffing Manager searches, invites, and confirms based on constructing date specific vertical swim-lanes grouped by department to provide a view derived from the virtual calendars of healthcare workers across the entire supplier ecosystem, wherein each shift has a backing timecard accessible by healthcare worker using mobile device. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising a Staffing Manager, wherein the Staffing Manager creates an orientation schedule for the matched healthcare worker. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the central processing unit presents a drop down menu on the display screen for each interviewer listed on the orientation schedule, wherein the drop down menu provides the option to either recommend or deny the healthcare worker. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the Staffing Manager stages the healthcare worker's profile for final approval segment once the healthcare worker successfully completes the orientation. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the orientation is designated as successful if at least ⅔ rd  majority of the interviewers that have interviewed the healthcare worker have recommended the healthcare worker for next stage of the hiring process. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the next stage of hiring process is the onboarding of the healthcare worker. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein onboarding includes verification of healthcare workers' background, healthcare workers' credentialing, and compliance with required policies and procedures of the healthcare facility. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the healthcare worker is added to the qualified staff pool once onboarding is marked completed. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein a swim lane is a 3-dimensional view that is organized by various departments at a healthcare facility. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the electronic analysis and evaluation of profiles of healthcare workers further comprises using a compliance manager to dynamically determine if the healthcare worker is compliant to the required policies and procedures of the healthcare facility. 
     
     
         17 . The method of claim  24 , wherein the compliance manager approves the healthcare worker to work a shift at the healthcare facility only if the healthcare worker is compliant with the required policies and procedures of the healthcare facility. 
     
     
         18 . The method of claim  24 , wherein the compliance further performs the steps of:
 dynamically generating a complete list of all required credentials, wherein the list of requirements is specifically configured for each healthcare facility, that are needed for approval of a healthcare worker,   comparing the complete required list of credentials and health compliance documents with a subset of credentials and health compliance documents already received by the healthcare facility,   identifying the missing set of credentials and health compliance documents based on the comparison performed, and   alerting an agency responsible for the healthcare worker to submit only those credentials and health compliance documents that are deemed missing and would make the list complete for approval.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the compliance manager approves the healthcare worker if the status of the healthcare worker's license, certifications, and health compliance is current to date. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the compliance manager approves the healthcare worker if healthcare worker's background verification meets the healthcare facility's criterion.