HCA Nurses Allege Palantir-Powered AI Scheduling Tool Timpani Compromises Patient Safety

Key facts

• HCA Healthcare has rolled out Timpani, an AI scheduling tool co-developed with Palantir, at roughly 130 of its 190 locations since 2023.
• Nurses report that Timpani frequently ignores their shift preferences, leading to understaffed and imbalanced care teams, especially on Sundays.
• Amber Retzloff, a critical care nurse in Florida, says over half of her 50 requested 12-hour shifts were changed, often resulting in consecutive workdays.
• HCA spokesperson Harlow Sumerford denies that Timpani reduces staffing at the expense of patient care, stating nursing leaders make final decisions.
• According to HCA, Timpani schedules nurses for only 1 percent of their requested days off, but nurse Lee Barker says such assignments were previously unheard of.
• In July, former HCA data science manager Angelique Russell sued the company, alleging retaliation for raising concerns about Timpani, including data deletion.
• Palantir’s sales have nearly doubled to almost $2 billion per quarter, and it has faced pushback over its defense and immigration work.
• In the UK, Palantir won a $440 million NHS contract to cut wait times, but nurses and activists have demanded its cancellation over privacy concerns.