A 10-year analysis of "revenues," costs, staffing, and workload in an academic medical center clinical chemistry laboratory

Abstract

From 1980 to 1990 we found progressive increases in workload (number of billable tests; 12.1% per year), staffing [number of full-time equivalents (FTEs); 5.6% per year], "revenues" (gross billings; 25.8% per year), and direct cost (12.9% per year) in the clinical chemistry laboratory of a large tertiary-care university medical center. The increase in direct cost was mainly attributable to an increase in salary cost (23.7% per year), whereas the impact of increasing "consumable" cost was relatively small (5.3% per year). In fact, after adjustment for inflation, the consumable cost was virtually unchanged or decreased during the 10-year study period. Initially, consumables represented about 60% of the direct cost, and the remaining 40% was for salaries. After 1982/83, however, the relative contribution of consumables and salaries to direct cost gradually reversed. Because the workload grew at a higher rate than staffing, the workload per FTE increased from 1980 to 1990. This was paralleled by gradual increases in both "revenue" per FTE and salary per FTE in actual dollars, but by lesser increases to no increases in inflation-corrected dollars. After adjusting for inflation with different indices, the direct cost per test, the consumable cost per test, and the salary cost per test either remained unchanged or decreased in the 1980s. The findings are discussed in the context of technical advancements in laboratory testing, nationwide shortages of medical technologists, and implementation of prospective fixed-fee reimbursement practices during the study period.