What benchmarking data is available?

A Laboratory Operations Manager has been asked to "develop some metrics that can be utilized to gauge departmental performance" over a large, multi-hospital system that is located in the Great Lakes region. Thus, she asks the e-Network Forum's participants for assistance in identifying available benchmarks. According to the inquiring colleague, "the volume and complexity of the work varies between sites. The staff in the largest, most complex blood bank is stressed to the max; meanwhile, in the smaller hospitals, the staff has a more reasonable pace." The inquiring colleague would appreciate any objective comparison mechanism, including external benchmarks for staff productivity and for inventory management.

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Ira A. Shulman, MD
CBBS e-Network Forum Senior Editor & Moderator

W. Tait Stevens, MD
CBBS e-Network Forum Editor & Moderator

Elizabeth M. St. Lezin, MD
CBBS e-Network Forum Associate Editor & Moderator

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