title: Determinants of Pediatric Echocardiography Laboratory Productivity: Analysis from the Second Survey of the American Society of Echocardiography Committee on Echocardiography Laboratory Productivity.
abstract: The American Society of Echocardiography Committee on Pediatric Echocardiography Laboratory Productivity aimed to study factors that could influence the clinical productivity of physicians and sonographers and assess longitudinal trends for the same. The first survey results indicated that productivity correlated with the total volume of echocardiograms.
  
  
  
  Survey questions were designed to assess productivity for (1) physician full-time equivalent (FTE) allocated to echocardiography reading (echocardiograms per physician FTE per day), (2) sonographer FTE (echocardiograms per sonographer FTE per year), and (3) machine utilization (echocardiograms per machine per year). Questions were also posed to assess work flow and workforce.
  
  
  
  For fiscal year 2013 or academic year 2012-2013, the mean number of total echocardiograms-including outreach, transthoracic, fetal, and transesophageal echocardiograms-per physician FTE per day was 14.3 ± 5.9, the mean number of echocardiograms per sonographer FTE per year was 1,056 ± 441, and the mean number of echocardiograms per machine per year was 778 ± 303. Both physician and sonographer productivity was higher at high-volume surgical centers and with echocardiography slots scheduled concordantly with clinic visits. Having an advanced imaging fellow and outpatient sedation correlated negatively with clinical laboratory productivity. Machine utilization was greater in laboratories with higher sonographer and physician productivity and lower for machines obtained before 2009.
  
  
  
  Measures of pediatric echocardiography laboratory staff productivity and machine utilization were shown to correlate positively with surgical volume, total echocardiography volumes, and concordant echocardiography scheduling; the same measures correlated negatively with having an advanced imaging fellow and outpatient sedation. There has been no significant change in staff productivity noted over two Committee on Pediatric Echocardiography Laboratory Productivity survey cycles, suggesting that hiring practices have matched laboratory volume increases.
authors: Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, New York. Electronic address: Shubhika.srivastava@mssm.edu.
authors: Shubhika
authors: S
authors: Srivastava
authors: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors: Vivekanand
authors: V
authors: Allada
authors: University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, Colorado.
authors: Adel
authors: A
authors: Younoszai
authors: Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University and Nicklaus Children's Hospital, Miami, Florida.
authors: Leo
authors: L
authors: Lopez
authors: University of Washington and Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Washington.
authors: Brian D
authors: BD
authors: Soriano
authors: University of Central Florida College of Medicine and the Heart Center at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, Orlando, Florida.
authors: Craig E
authors: CE
authors: Fleishman
authors: American Society of Echocardiography, Morrisville, North Carolina.
authors: Andrea M
authors: AM
authors: Van Hoever
authors: Division of Cardiology, Children's Hospital of Orange County, Orange, California.
authors: Wyman W
authors: WW
authors: Lai
mesh_terms: D002309:Cardiology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007755:Laboratories, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States; D016526:Workload / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Machine productivity; Pediatric echocardiography laboratory; Physician productivity; Sonographer productivity; Work flow; Workforce