AtStaff, Inc., to Integrate Embedded Predictor Engines within Its Staffing Software to Support Proactive Decision-Making, and Eliminate Costly Labor Inefficiencies.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

DURHAM, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 24, 2004

In a major advancement in healthcare staff scheduling and staffing software, AtStaff, Inc., today announced it has developed new software engines that will predict a healthcare organization's ongoing staffing needs as well as the actual staff that will be available into the near future.

As part of its Proactive Staff Management(TM) product strategy, a set of Embedded Predictor Engines(TM) is being integrated into the next release of the company's AtStaff(R) enterprise staff scheduling and management system, which is planned for introduction during the third quarter of 2004.

"We're moving healthcare staff management into a dynamic new direction," said Beth Pickard, President and Chief Executive Officer at AtStaff, Inc. "With the ability to predict the two key determinants of effective staffing -- the demand for staff and the supply of staff -- healthcare organizations will enter a proactive decision-making mode, one that can prevent the majority of costly staffing inefficiencies."

Staffing inefficiencies, which include excessive agency and overtime use, high workforce turnover, inadequate staff-to-patient ratios, and poor employee communication, are fueling three critical healthcare challenges: uncontrollable labor costs, low rates of staff retention and recruitment, and a growing demand for patient safety.

"Traditional staff scheduling systems, since they primarily focus on automating existing processes and providing retrospective -- rather than proactive -- tools, are simply not designed to predict and prevent," Pickard said. "Without predictive and preventive capabilities, healthcare organizations cannot make a direct and sustainable impact on staffing costs, employee retention and patient safety standards."

Michael Warner, Ph.D., the co-founder of AtStaff, Inc., and an expert in applying mathematical modeling and computers in healthcare, directed the team that developed the company's new predictive software.

"Any time you can move critical information and decision-making into the future - even for several days - the payoff is huge. You immediately have many more options than you do with reactive decision-making, plus less chaos, and more satisfied individuals on both sides of the decision," said Dr. Warner, who began studying the impact of proactive decision-making on healthcare administration as an Operations Research professor at the University of Michigan and Duke University.

"Proactive decision-making and predictability measurements have been introduced in other industries with positive results," Dr. Warner said. "A heightened awareness is now occurring in healthcare as a result of serious staffing shortages, and because of the huge influence healthcare staffing has on financial and clinical outcomes."

The Embedded Predictor Engines, Dr. Warner explains, analyze hospital-specific data from multiple sources to generate customized predictions of both staffing requirements and availability. The software employs "recursive learning" by tracking its predictive performance, and adjusting its parameters to improve ongoing accuracy.

By developing predictive engines within its software, AtStaff, Inc., is taking another significant step forward in its new Proactive Staff Management(TM) product strategy. The company recently introduced a new dashboard component to its AtStaff software that serves as a personalized monitoring and alert center, providing real-time staffing status indicators and user-specific, proactive alerts whenever targeted thresholds are triggered.

The company's direction in Proactive Staff Management is driven by several critical factors:

-- The majority of healthcare organizations today too often

manage staffing resources in a reactive mode, where decisions

affecting employee deployment and utilization are often made

in crisis, too late to avoid costly staffing inefficiencies.

-- Attaining reliable, ongoing control over staffing costs

requires two essential components: increasing the

predictability of future staffing requirements (demand) and

availability (supply); and implementing industry-proven,

best-practice staffing protocols and methodology.

-- Improving staffing predictability and processes not only

increases cost control, but also supports safer,

higher-quality patient care, and enhances employee

satisfaction.

"Our approach is developing innovative software that addresses our customers' needs from all sides," said Kate Nell, Vice President of Product Management at AtStaff, Inc. "That means creating staffing solutions that support staff retention and patient care as well as cost control, and understanding all the elements required for a healthcare organization to function smoothly and efficiently."

AtStaff, Inc., has been working with several leading hospital systems in the U.S. who have recognized the importance of a proactive approach, and leveraging automation with process improvement. These partnerships are delivering proven results and methodologies that the company can offer to other healthcare organizations.

About AtStaff, Inc.

AtStaff, Inc., based in Durham, N.C., is a world leader in enterprise-wide staff scheduling, nurse scheduling and physician scheduling software, serving more than 1,200 healthcare organizations, medical facilities, nursing departments and group practices.

The company leverages advanced, Web-driven automation and embedded predictability engines to enable healthcare organizations to better predict both required and available staffing.

This process of Proactive Staff Management(TM) reduces labor costs, improves staff satisfaction, and increases the precision and efficiency of staffing deployment and utilization.

More information is available at www.atstaff.com.