Measuring Department Productivity

[FortSam1962]

I would like to find out what tools you are using to measure your department productivity. Is it number of items sterilized? Number of instruments cleaned? Or some other measurement tool. Did the financial folks set your productivity parameters?

I am finding that is order to justify our staffing needs to senior management we must have the proper management data.

[Guest]

When I do monthly stats, I look at the number of loads run in each sterilizer, total the amount of loads and also look at the number of packages sterilized. I send these numbers to my director as well as administration each month. They have finally realized that I am under staffed. When you look at the total of packages your staff handles on a months time, it really opens your eyes!

[Guest]

When I do monthly stats, I look at the number of loads run in each sterilizer, total the amount of loads and also look at the number of packages sterilized. I send these numbers to my director as well as administration each month. They have finally realized that I am under staffed. When you look at the total of packages your staff handles in a months time, it really opens your eyes!

[ladyj]

the productivity parameters were in place when I came - I do not know how or when they were set. it is by # of wrapped instruments. This is not valid measurement for staffing BECAUSE we do many other tasks. WE do all the equipment cleaning for the patient care units, ( pick and clean) this takes about 45 minutes a day for 2 people ( I did a study for 2 months)
we also have multiple carts, kits urology, chest tube insertion, chest carts etc
that have no way of being measured.
the reps frequently bring in multiple instrument sets for OR cases at the last minute we have no time to wrap and sterilize to count in productivity - BUt we do have to process through the washer decontam area and this is also done post op but again we do not wrap to get # in our productivity for all this time.
I have been consistently trying to gt this corrected ,but have not been successful as we are out of site, non revenue producing department and no patient care directly affected. thus out of site out of mind - resources are directly elsewhere.