On-Call Scheduling for Partner Physicians, Finally Made Simple.

Managing the on-call schedule is a recurring source of stress in many medical practices and health centers. Who takes the next public holiday? How do you ensure the distribution is fair over the quarter? Endless email chains, multiple spreadsheet versions, and informal chats often lead to oversights, errors, and a feeling of unfairness that can damage team morale.

The responsibility often falls on one person who inherits the mental load of trying to please everyone—an almost impossible mission. OuiCanPlan was designed to solve this problem. Using a structured approach and artificial intelligence, our tool transforms the process of gathering constraints and finding solutions into a neutral, fast, and efficient one. It's not about replacing discussion, but about basing it on concrete, equitable proposals that already respect everyone's needs.

In 3 Steps: From Constraints to Solution

Our method was designed to be as simple as possible, for both the organizer and the participating physicians.

1. Describe your project in one sentence. The organizer (lead physician, coordinator, office manager...) logs in and simply describes the need. For example: "Distribute the on-call shifts for the next quarter among the 8 physicians in the practice." Based on this sentence, our AI generates a series of 10 to 15 relevant questions.
2. Each physician answers in 2 minutes. A unique link is generated and shared with all participants. Everyone answers the questions individually from their phone or computer, without needing to create an account. The anonymity of responses (guaranteed for 3 or more participants) allows for honest and straightforward collection of hard constraints and preferences.
3. Visualize the optimized schedules. Once the responses are collected, the AI analyzes all the data. It calculates and presents several schedule proposals, ranked by overall agreement percentage. You can immediately see the most consensual options, the compromises found, and any remaining sticking points that need to be discussed.

A Concrete Example: The Practice's On-Call Schedule

Imagine a practice with 5 partner physicians who need to plan weekend on-call duties for the next quarter, which covers 13 weekends. Fairness (2 to 3 shifts per person) is an important goal.

The organizer types: "Organize the weekend on-call shifts for the 5 partner physicians in the practice for the next quarter."

OuiCanPlan's AI generates questions that are sent to each physician: Which weekends are you absolutely unavailable (hard constraint)? How many weekend on-call shifts would you like to cover (between 2 and 3)? Do you have a preference for taking a shift during a long weekend or school holidays? Is there a weekend you would particularly like to work?

The physicians respond anonymously: One physician is unavailable the weekend of March 15th (family event). Another is at a conference the first two weekends of February. A third would prefer to avoid Easter weekend, but it's not a requirement. A fourth has no specific constraints. * The last one definitely wants to take a shift in January.

The AI processes this information and generates schedules: Proposal 1: 95% Agreement. The schedule respects all absolute unavailability. The distribution is fair (two physicians take 3 shifts, three take 2). The physician who wanted a shift in January gets it. The only compromise concerns the physician who preferred to avoid Easter; the AI clearly flags this by stating "Unresolved point: Dr. X (anonymized) is assigned to Easter weekend despite their preference." Proposal 2: 91% Agreement. Another distribution that also respects hard constraints, but one physician's shifts are closer together. The AI mentions this as a lower comfort point.

The organizer now has a solid, objective basis to finalize the schedule with full transparency.

Spreadsheets, Emails, Chat... vs. OuiCanPlan

Comparing the traditional approach with OuiCanPlan highlights the savings in time and peace of mind.

#### With Traditional Tools (Spreadsheets, Group Chats) Time-Consuming Process: Dozens of exchanges are needed to gather availability, often spanning several weeks. High Mental Load: The organizer has to manually compile responses, juggle constraints, and bear the pressure from those who are unhappy. Risk of Errors and Oversights: A forgotten constraint, a wrong file version shared... errors are frequent and costly in time and trust. Lack of Transparency: The final decision can seem arbitrary and create a sense of inequity within the team.

#### With OuiCanPlan Immediate Time Savings: The organizer spends a few minutes launching the project. Each physician responds in 2 minutes. Automated and Impartial Process: The AI centralizes anonymous responses and calculates the best compromises, free from human bias. Reliability and Respect for Constraints: No participant's hard constraint is ever violated. The tool is 100% reliable on this point. Fairness and Satisfaction: The proposed schedules seek the best possible compromise. The agreement percentage allows for an objective choice of the most consensual solution.

A Collaborative Tool Designed for Medical Teams

Beyond automation, OuiCanPlan fosters better collaboration. The organizer can set a deadline for responses, with automatic reminders sent 7 days, 3 days, and 24 hours before the due date. They can track who has responded (without seeing the answers) to follow up only with those who are late.

For larger practices, it's possible to share the workload. Our subscriptions allow you to designate co-organizers (2 in the Personal and Personal+ plans, unlimited in the Pro plans) who can help manage the process.

The management of on-call schedules is a complex subject with significant human and organizational challenges. To delve deeper into strategies for balancing fairness and continuity of care, consult our detailed article on managing weekend on-call shifts for partners in a medical practice.

Whether you're a small practice or a larger health center, OuiCanPlan adapts to your needs. Our Simple plan, which is free, lets you manage up to 10 participants. For larger or recurring needs, our Pro plans (up to 250 participants) and our pay-per-project plans offer all the necessary flexibility. Discover the right plan for you on our pricing page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the anonymity of responses truly guaranteed?

Yes, completely. As soon as 3 people have responded, the answers are pooled and anonymized. The organizer can see who has participated to track progress but never has access to individual responses, ensuring an honest and pressure-free collection of information.

What happens if a physician doesn't respond in time?

You can set a deadline when creating the schedule. Our system sends automatic email reminders 7 days, 3 days, and 24 hours before the due date. This maximizes the response rate without you having to manually chase each person.

Our practice has very specific scheduling rules. Can the AI handle them?

Yes, the AI is designed for that. Each participant can define hard constraints (for example, total unavailability) that the AI will never break. The tool also identifies more flexible preferences to find compromises and clearly indicates if a blocking point remains.

Do you need to create an account to respond and provide your constraints?

No, only the organizer(s) need an account. Participating physicians receive a unique, secure link, answer the questions directly in their browser, and that's it. The experience is designed to be as smooth as possible, with no barriers to entry.

Is it suitable for recurring schedules (monthly, quarterly)?

Absolutely. Our subscription plans (Personal and up) include a "routines" feature. It allows you to duplicate a planning project in one click, for example, every quarter, keeping the same participants and settings for maximum time savings.