[underwires]

From what my doctor friends have told me, it is all about information hand-off, or lack thereof. When you have been on duty for 8 hours you have all the details of all the situations that are happening currently, but it is very difficult to hand off all that information to the next person, so it is just 'easier' to keep working and to be there when that info is needed.

It seems like that could be remedied with overlapping shifts, but that costs more money. I wonder how medical malpractice factors in.

[cmdrfred]

Why can't everything be in the patent's chart? I do healthcare IT and doctors seem to do their digital 'paperwork' sometimes weeks after the visit. I know because we get calls to unlock the records so they can modify them. If all this data was in the chart, problem solved.

[ansible]

Sounds like we need to make data capture going into the charts much more slick and smooth. I'm thinking of a voice-driven personal assistant using the latest in AI. So you can just tell it what you're doing, and what you're thinking about the patient's problems, and it organizes it automatically, and makes it easy for others to retrieve (via voice).

Adding in some kind of unobtrusive HUD would be awesome too.

[TrevorJ]

Why isn't it possible for a programmer to step away from their desk at any time, and another programmer sit down and pick up right where you left off? Synthesis and planning happen between your ears, and there's a lot of overhead to handing that off. It's not a simple problem.

[erikpukinskis]

That explains the long shifts, but not planned overtime.

[PeterisP]

That is a factor for the length of the shift, but not the total amount - where I live, when there are professions that for various reasons need 24 or 12 hour shifts running continuously, the standard way to do that is "1 on / 3 off" continuous schedule which comes out to an average 42 hour work week. I.e., either you work for a full 24 hour shift and then have three days off; or you have a 12 hour shift every other day, no matter what day of week it is.

It has some advantages and disadvantages compared to normal work schedule (essentially, less commute but many of weekends/holidays away from family), but you can definitely live with that.

However, having 12 hour shifts every day? Just hire two employees then, because you have enough work that requires two full employees.

[karmelapple]

Seems like a pain point that is ripe for improvement.

[dilemma]

By better organization design and management.