Snake pick order
Odd rounds move forward. Even rounds reverse, so the same person never owns the edge.
Physician scheduling software for every way your team works.
Generate a complete schedule in seconds, work through assignments with guidance, place every shift manually, or let clinicians choose through a fair Draft. Every mode uses the same coverage rules—and nothing publishes until you approve it.
Schedule command center
Choose the workflow. Keep the same rules.
Team-led
Let clinicians pick—with fairness built into every round.
Run a live snake draft with pick clocks, seniority protections, overnight pauses, and feasibility checks before the first shift is chosen.
Same rules across every modeMode details
April ED schedule
Round 3 of 8
1Picked
Dr. Kim
Mon 7a–3p
2Picked
Dr. Singh
Tue 3p–11p
304:18
Dr. Patel
Choosing now
Coverage
100%
Hard rules
Passed
Publish
Your call
Four connected scheduling modes Deterministic rule checks Nothing publishes without review
How the Draft works
The Draft gives clinicians real choice without asking the scheduler to referee every preference. The rules are visible, the pick order is explicit, and feasibility is checked before the process begins.
April ED schedule
Round 3 of 8 · snake order reversed
1Mon 7a–3p
Dr. Kim
Pick confirmed
2Tue 3p–11p
Dr. Singh
Pick confirmed
3Wed 11p–7a
Dr. Torres
Pick confirmed
4Thu 7a–3p
Dr. Allen
Pick confirmed
On the clock
Dr. Patel · pick 5
Per-round pick clock
Each person gets a clear turn. If time expires, auto-pick uses the same visible rules.
Overnight pause
The clock pauses during off-hours by default, so nobody loses a turn while they sleep.
Rescue picks
If someone is about to be boxed out, the system can protect the last shift that keeps their schedule feasible.
Build the schedule the way your group actually works
Automate physician scheduling with a ready-to-review Generator result, work with guided checks, place shifts directly, or let the team pick. Every mode uses the same rules and administrator review.
Full control
Manual
Build the schedule directly with full control over every assignment.
Mode 01Explore →
Step by step
Guided
Work through requirements with the system surfacing conflicts as you go.
Mode 02Explore →
Fastest path
Generator
Build a ready-to-review schedule in seconds using deterministic optimization.
Mode 03Explore →
Team choice
Draft
Let clinicians choose shifts in a controlled, fairness-protected live pick.
Mode 04Explore →
Built by people who carried the schedule
“Nobody actually wants to do the scheduling.”
Dr. J. Scott Lowry explains why ScheduleForward was built—and how clinician choice, administrator control, and connected calendars change the scheduling experience.
1:33Founder storyProduct walkthrough
Read the transcript
00:00 Nobody actually wants to do the scheduling. It was all on paper because none of the systems that were out there at the time helped at all. An Excel spreadsheet comes with a lot of issues because it would get passed around from provider to provider. So if they would copy and paste, all of the requirements would kind of go with it and it would break the system.
00:23 That brings us to where we started building ScheduleForward, which is now an automated version of that so nobody can break it. But letting a clinician pick their own schedule is by far the easiest way to make everybody as happy as possible. Even when it comes down to the very end where there's nothing nice left to pick and it's all kind of the junk shifts left, they get to pick the least bad shift for them.
00:47 For the administrators, you're taking away hours and literally hours of work time. So much of it is automated now. Administrators still have oversight and they get to build all the restraints that they need, but it fills it following the individual clinicians' preferences. They can see their schedule immediately, even if they work at different locations, even if they work at different hospital systems, if they all use ScheduleForward, they can see all of their schedules on one calendar. They can also trade, make any trades for any shifts that they want to trade with anybody else in the department directly from their phone, from the computer system with a couple clicks. Instead of someone telling them when to work, they get to decide when they get to work.
Fairness you can audit
No black box. Show your team the math.
ScheduleForward uses deterministic fairness and coverage rules, not a model that learns behind the scenes. The system supports fair physician shift distribution, prevents rule-breaking conflicts, and traces every outcome back to the inputs.
InputsRulesSchedule
Balanced allocation
Capped members' overflow is redistributed to people who still have room.
Most constrained first
Criticality tiers protect the people with the fewest workable options.
Deterministic tie-breaking
Stable hashing removes alphabetical and roster-order bias from equal cases.
Explainable after the fact
Same inputs, same schedule, every time—so an allocation never needs hand-waving.
One healthcare scheduling tool. Different clinical realities.
Built for the people who actually carry the schedule
Physicians use ScheduleForward to reduce repetitive scheduling work, coordinate complex groups, and give clinicians more control over when they work.
“ScheduleForward has removed 80% of my time and effort in building our schedules. For our office, it has eliminated 80 man-hours a year of data entry, now done with a single click of a button.”
80%
less time and effort
80 hours
of yearly data entry eliminated
Scott L, MD
Published ScheduleForward customer
“If anyone wants testimonials, just let me know; it's unlike any other scheduling system that I know of. If I had to name 3 top wellness interventions for our faculty, this may be #1 for them.”
Sam Keim, MD
“With over 60 providers, 2 clinical sites, and a unique shift selection process, ScheduleForward has provided our leaders with a powerful tool needed to develop a schedule and effectively communicate it with the staff.”
Nicholas S, MD
“I wish I had this system for the past 6 years of scheduling, including my prior group with 12 physicians. Went really well, I'd say.”
Steve Houmes, MD
$9 per user, per month. No contract.
Small teams can use ScheduleForward free forever. Larger teams can start with a 30-day trial and continue month to month. Cancel anytime. Hospitalist and physician groups can review transparent pricing before starting—without negotiating a contract.
Teams of 8 or fewer
Best for small teamsFree forever
No credit card. No trial clock. No expiration.
- All four scheduling modes
- Calendar sync and shift trades
- Fairness and coverage checks
Teams of 9 or more
$9
per user / month
30 days free with a card on file, then monthly. Cancel anytime.
- No setup fees
- No long-term contract
- One transparent price
Straight answers before you try it
01Is ScheduleForward AI-powered?+
No. The scheduling engine is deterministic and rules-based. It does not use machine learning, an LLM, or a model trained on your data. The same inputs produce the same result, and the allocation can be audited afterward.
02Can our team pick their own shifts?+
Yes. The Draft lets clinicians pick shifts in a rotating snake order while the system protects coverage, quotas, pick timing, and schedule feasibility.
03Does ScheduleForward support physician self-scheduling?+
Yes. The Draft lets clinicians choose their own shifts in a rotating snake order while ScheduleForward protects coverage, quotas, pick timing, and schedule feasibility. Administrators retain oversight and review the schedule before publishing.
04Do we have to use the Draft?+
No. ScheduleForward includes Manual, Guided, Generator, and Draft modes. Administrators keep full control and can review a schedule before publishing it.
05How much does it cost?+
Teams of eight or fewer can use ScheduleForward free with no card or expiration. Larger teams pay $9 per user per month after a 30-day free trial. Billing is monthly and you can cancel anytime.
06Can we see the product before talking to sales?+
Yes. The public interactive demo is available without a signup, email gate, or scheduled call.
No gated tour
Don’t take our word for it. Run a real draft yourself.
Experience the scheduling platform with realistic emergency department data. No signup, no email gate, no scheduled call.
Try the live demo