HCA Nurses Say Palantir-Powered AI Scheduling Leaves Teams Understaffed and Exhausted

Beyond the past Amber Retzloff, a critical care nurse in Florida, requested 50 specific 12-hour shifts over a four-month period. She says HCA Healthcare’s Palantir-powered scheduling software assigned her to different shifts more than half the time, often on back-to-back days, leaving her mentally exhausted.

Retzloff does not expect to receive every shift she requests. But by her calculations, the scheduling tool does a much worse job of respecting her preferences than managers did when schedules were assigned manually.

HCA’s AI scheduling tool, Timpani, faces complaints from nurses

Retzloff’s experience mirrors complaints from other nurses at HCA Healthcare, the largest hospital chain in the United States. Since 2023, HCA has deployed Timpani, an AI scheduling tool jointly developed with Palantir, at approximately 130 of its 190 locations. Retzloff’s hospital adopted the software nearly two years ago.

“No one is happy with Timpani,” Retzloff said, echoing comments from five nurses at other HCA facilities interviewed by WIRED. “Everyone complains all the time,” said another self-identified HCA employee.

Similar complaints about AI scheduling tools have also appeared on platforms such as Reddit, including discussions about Timpani and AI nurse scheduling.

Nurses say schedules lacked staffing balance and clinical experience

Nurses who spoke with WIRED claim that Timpani left medical teams understaffed, unbalanced, and exhausted, potentially putting patients at risk. They say the tool operates with minimal oversight and routinely creates schedules with too few nurses or not enough experienced veterans, especially on Sundays.

According to the nurses, Timpani also frequently ignores requests to space out shifts, work nights or weekends, or take specific days off. As a result, nurses say they spend more time swapping shifts and rearranging schedules than they did before the software was introduced.

They also believe that more coworkers are using paid and unpaid time to skip duties, putting those employees at risk of being fired if they do so more than a few times a year.

Critical care nurse describes impact on patient care

Retzloff, 34, is a union leader at National Nurses United with 10 years of bedside experience. She recalls a recent shift when all four of her colleagues were junior nurses. As the only senior nurse on duty, Retzloff said she had to delay care for the sickest patients while directing newer nurses to less complex cases.

“HCA is letting the AI tell you what to do,” Retzloff said. “We are overriding clinical judgment and person-to-person care with apps.”

Nurses report less oversight and shorter notice

Before Timpani, managers handled schedules manually and typically consulted nurses well in advance when they wanted to override a request. Nurses say the AI scheduling system has required them to make alternative arrangements with less notice and has increased temporary redeployment to other teams.

“I can’t remember what the problem was before,” said a nonunion nurse in Texas who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation from HCA. “Everything was finished on time.”