title: Staffing benchmarks for clinical laboratories: a College of American Pathologists Q-Probes study of laboratory staffing at 98 institutions.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Publicly available information concerning laboratory staffing benchmarks is scarce. One of the few publications on this topic summarized the findings of a Q-Probes study performed in 2004. This publication reports a similar survey with data collected in 2010.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the relationship between staffing levels in specified laboratory sections and test volumes in these sections and quantify management span of control.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study defined 4 laboratory sections: anatomic pathology (including cytology), chemistry/hematology/immunology, microbiology, and transfusion medicine. It divided staff into 3 categories: management, nonmanagement (operational or bench staff), and doctoral (MD, PhD) supervisory staff. People in these categories were tabulated as full-time equivalents and exclusions specified. Tests were counted in uniform formats, specified for each laboratory section, according to Medicare rules for the bundling and unbundling of tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ninety-eight participating institutions provided data that showed significant associations between test volumes and staffing for all 4 sections. There was wide variation in productivity based on volume. There was no relationship between testing volume per laboratory section and management span of control. Higher productivity in chemistry/hematology/immunology was associated with a higher fraction of tests coming from nonacute care patients. In both the 2004 and 2010 studies, productivity was inseparably linked to test volume.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Higher test volume was associated with higher productivity ratios in chemistry/hematology/immunology and transfusion medicine sections. The impact of various testing services on productivity is section-specific.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan 48202, USA.
authors.forename: Bruce A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Darcy
authors.forename: Rhona J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Souers
authors.forename: Frederick A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Meier
mesh_terms: D019985:Benchmarking; D007753:Laboratories / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017056:Medical Laboratory Personnel / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010338:Pathology, Clinical / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000458:organization & administration*; D058996:Quality Improvement