Nurses Say Palantir’s Timpani Disrupts HCA Scheduling

Since 2023, HCA Healthcare has rolled out Timpani, an AI scheduling tool co-developed with Palantir, at roughly 130 of its 190 locations. [1] Critical care nurse Amber Retzloff said the software assigned her different shifts in more than half of 50 requests for specific 12-hour shifts over four months. [1]

Retzloff and five nurses at other HCA locations told WIRED that Timpani frequently ignored preferences for shift spacing, nights, weekends, and specific days off. [1] The nurses alleged that the tool routinely scheduled too few nurses or too few experienced veterans, and said they spent more time trading shifts or appealing schedules. [1]

Timpani’s deployment across roughly 130 HCA locations turns the nurses’ accounts into a governance question about how automated workforce decisions are monitored after rollout. The reported mismatch between requested shifts and actual assignments shows why scheduling performance cannot be evaluated only by whether slots are filled; experience mix and staff preferences also affect frontline operations. Because WIRED’s evidence consists of worker accounts rather than comparative performance data from HCA or Palantir, the picture remains incomplete. What the sources don't address: how Timpani’s outcomes compare quantitatively with manager-built schedules across HCA’s hospitals.