Pathologists' Assistants productivity – a new way to look at the numbers

Pre-existing productivity monitoring methods of assessing number of specimens grossed or number of blocks submitted are no longer granular enough in a milieu of Pathologists' Assistants (PA) grossing different types of specimens of varying complexities and performing other operational tasks. Workload capture in the gross lab should be consistent and accurate not only to submit accurate figures to finance but also in order to provide administrative staff with data that is useful in assessing how many PAs they need to accommodate specimen volumes. Capturing workload using real time, bench level entry of unit values from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), Management Information System (MIS) standards by the unit producing personnel (UPP) will allow for more accurate and consistent capture. Interfacing this method with actual time worked by PAs provides the individual and leadership the ability to assess their productivity.