PetalMD is an intuitive scheduling platform that allows physicians to have a life outside of work. Docs can finally be there for their family, friends and themselves. Physicians who work at two sites or also have run a clinic outside the hospital no longer have to suffer hours by their computer and phone sorting through multiple trades when they are double-booked. Trades through a "marketplace" or directly between physicians are error-checked by the computer for schedule conflicts and updated to the master schedule in real-time. We no longer fax an updated copy of the schedule every few days to the hospital, not certain if the most recent version is the one posted; hospital clerical staff can have limited-access accounts to view the master schedule online. The technical support is always quick, helpful, and professional - the answer to my problem is always found. If your group is anything like my group, then they will have zero regrets going to this platform. I make the schedule for my department and I have found the scheduling system adaptive to our group's many unique needs.

There is a learning curve to using the scheduling system and I would recommend training at least one other person other than the scheduler to avoid downtime if the scheduler is away unexpectedly. The training process was very helpful but becoming an expert in all the functionality of the schedule creation took me about 6-8 months to master (at least a couple of schedules). The scheduling system has to be meticulously programmed in its parameters or else it can do something really silly with people's schedules. Support has been great to adjust little rules to iron out these "bugs" in the rules I created with the PetalMD consultant. They always figure out a way to avoid similar problems in the future for me. We are now in our sixth iteration of the schedule and every round the schedule making gets easier. The mobile app does not have nearly as much functionality as the desktop website version. Some missing features can be very important like no error-checking for shift trades.

Better way to book off time.

there are a number of different calendar views that make it easy to navigate. I can clearly see what I have booked off. I am able to see who is working with me during the day and who is available for trades. trades are straight forward.

I book off months in advance and there are only a few options for time off, there should be more Sometimes, my days off are dropped. Printing can be hassle - I like a particular view which is sometimes hard to find in the list of options. The more users the more confusing the trade situation. I usually have this ironed out before hand and then go into Petal to make the switch. Otherwise it moght be a bit more difficult.

that both hospitals I work at share this software. Of course, that stops march 31 when one hospital leaves Petal

it is dysfunctional! If I post a shift for trade I cannot then choose that shift in exchange for a trade with someone else - it prevents me from doing exactly what I have requested. I have to remove my trade request in order to make a trade! Shifts up for trade are not visible on a calendar. I have to keep switching from the list of trades up on marketplace to my calendar then to the group calendar to see if some can accommodate the switch. Otherwise i have to click on each individual to see if they are free - incredibly painful! I usually end up getting our Petal manager/scheduler to make the changes because it is otherwise so hard

I like the calendar format and ability to easily switch between specialty call schedules. I also like that I am able to use it on my phone as well as laptop.

Inability with current package to let the software make the scheduling decisions. I understand that this due to the package that my department has purchased but it is an issue with my use of the software. The second issue I have is the ease of use for scheduling is not that user friendly. I have to try things a couple of times to figure out the right way to do things. That said customer service is excellent and has always helped me figure out any issues I may have.

PetalMd is easy to use. It displays the hospital call schedule in a clear way that is easy to navigate.

The editing field in the "assigned physician" part of the scheduling section isn't formatted well. To add a comment or edit the time, you need to go to the dr list beside the schedule, go to the bottom and then scroll across to get to the wheel that allows you to open the edit page. It would be nice if it all displayed without having to scroll across. It would also be nice if the administrator could add the contact information for the physicians in their department so that the physician didn't have to log on and do it themselves. There is a lot of missing contact info as a result.

Simplistic symbols he one learn how to use this software. It is helpful to also learn the mobile app is it is also useful on a daily basis. The software is easy for MD's to learn and manipulate to their own needs. It also helps with sorting out call equity issues.

Need to spend to time become adept but this is overall a quick process. My biggest issue is I would like the mobile app to allow me as a scheduler to make changes. Currently this can only be done it seems from a desktop which can be limiting.

ease of use is very practical especially when you're in a rush. As a physician, I barely have time to eat, and the last thing I want is to spend hours looking up my schedule. Petal MD makes this very easy with its new platform and the application

would like the app to allow automatic login features like fave recognition, or thumb print I would also like the app to be able to syng in our other calendars. communication between physicians should be more like a messenger type chat, rather than email type.

Efficient- time saving, the ability for trainees to enter their own absences.

Fairly straightforward system; user friendly. Scheduling is straightforward and significantly time saving

Entering of absence requests for large groups ( example trainees) was more user friendly and clearer visually then current iteration.

Better schedule management that is automated.

The UI and functions for schedule maintenance are easy to use and looks clean. The ability manage the schedule and customize without the need for help desk has improved.

Needs more features specifically related to communication directly from the schedule to non-petalMD users. Also the ability to create the schedule does not work well with complex schedules.

I mostly enjoyed the ability to share the calendars through this product on my different other calendar organizers, this was done in style for sure.

Design is elegant and intuitive with colour coding and the like, very easy to use, synchronized with different calendars easily with no hassle which is a huge plus, messaging service was very well integrated.

Main thing was cost, our hospital had to move to a much inferior product because if the significant increase in the cost of service.

Completed survey

The program petal md Downloads seamlessly to Google calendar. It downloads changes usually within a few hours of the change being executed.

Our obstetrics group is small (5-6 people). Every year, to maintain a free product, we were squeezed out of functionality. Trading became onerous. Splitting shifts became difficult. The new marketplace (used for the large er group to whoch i also belong) does not allow multiple trade requests for the same shift, thus one must wait for the first offer to be declined before offering the shift to someone else, which is very inefficient, especially when most do no respond to open marketplace offers.

The site is never down. The app is responsive. The menu system and over all interface is great and easy to navigate.

It's hard for staff to figure out who is on call. there is no roster view for staff to see team information. The oncall dashboard view only can be viewed one week at a time. Learners have the ability to take their phone number off their profile so nurses don't have contact information when a learner isn't on call. Administrators don't have access to add phone numbers to learner profiles. There should be note boxes for each profile to include notes about each learner which would be helpful for posting leave of absence/vacation information. This would help chief residents make schedules completely on your site.

I appreciate that it is web based and that it shows my colleagues schedules as well. I appreciate that it keeps a contact list for my colleagues.

Unable to efficiently swap shifts, a necessity for ER scheduling. This function was initially available however was lost in sequential upgrades. We have been unable to get the changes we need despite repeated requests to the help team over more than a year.

having as app and having it integrate to my gmail calendar is great. allows my staff to put in their absences instead of randomly emailing me dates.

It is not easy for my staff to see when a shift is "open" (they have to see who has posted it to know it is an open shift as the name is assigned to our administrator). It would be good if folks could see all open shifts in a different color so it easily distinguishes and highlights open shifts. I also would like if I could post ALL the open shifts at once or all shifts of one provider at once to open (eg. if they go on mat leave/sick / leave etc). to manually post all to market place is tedious.

Combination of hospitals Ease for switching and trading shifts Being able to find all physicians contact infomatiob in one area

Not being able to combine with own schedule - would be nice to import own schedule into petal Constant alerts

online scheduling is great, makes trades very easy

works well for scheduling, trades are easy. Design is intuitive, and easy to navigate. Easy to see own schedule.

Unsure if able to push shifts to mobile device (e.g. google calendar). On screen guides are a pain and difficult to get rid of (e.g. guides show up all the time, not just once). Trades could be more intuitive, eg. selecting another physicians shift and trading for it, vs having to select my own)

User friendly interface, good mobile app. Prompt responses to help requests. Able to trade and post shifts to a marketplace.

Planning support. Had a lot of difficulty when we needed to make multiple simultaneous changes to the schedule. Also didn't get much in the way of guidance for advanced planning so never tried this, though we are paying for it.

I like the phone app, it is reliable and easy to view. I have found trading shifts and accepting requests for trades to be an easy process

We use PetalMD for emergency medicine shift scheduling. I am not in charge of the master scheduling and am simply an end-user. As a part of being a user, I have to enter in my shift preferences 4 times a year. The method used to put in time off requests is very bulky and not easy to use. Other applications such as websked are much more user friendly to input, edit and re-enter. I would not recommend this software from this point of view. Once the schedule is made, I do not have any complaints about how we view shifts or ask for trades etc.

See everyone schedule when needed as in can pull up each day and see who is working... helpful for knowing when looking ahead to whom I can see that day

Can't see other's schedules when trying to switch shift... I have to know who I want to switch with before placing trade out. Painful.

Updates fix things Good support Integrates well everyone, multitasking, personnal events too Calendar is great on the app

Interface not as intuitive Mobile app buggy for messages and shift switches Pricey. Pricing structure could be more personalized

Easy transition fom Docroster. Fairly good monthly price per MD.

works on lap top and all portable devices. Easy to read shift in lap top view. Same view is available on portable devices. However, actual portable vioew is not easy to use.

No template copy and paste function. As the scheduler I have to enter shifts manually every month. If a physician has posted a shift, I cannot override and change the physicians name assigned to the shift.

Looks ok to me most of the time but issues are with the functioning of it. It's very hard to swap or trade a shift. Too much colours are going on. Not intuitive. Very poor in taking suggestions. Overall needs a lot of improvement. Additionally takes too much interface time...nothing to use on the phone as an app.

Very smooth software and app. Great design. I like that it synchronizes between app and desktop and the messaging capability. The new logo is better.

I would like fewer clicks when I am switching a shift. It takes too long especially on the app. Other than that, nothing major

Leaving the job to the members to organize their own schedule without external modifier. Having a scedule always right with the exchanges done directly online between members.

I do not like to receive adds and publicity on my job network and there is some but not too much on Petal

Ability to share confidential correspondence and documents, physician to physician and within formal groups.

The app is less user friendly and visually worse than the web version. By far. I need a calendar I can glance at, not one requiring each day to be clicked on for more information