Key performance indicators to assess laboratory operations. Action-packed benchmarking with HBSI (HBS International Inc.).

The first article of this series highlighted the five most widely used performance measurement systems for comparing laboratory and clinical department operations. This column has since taken an in-depth tour of two of the systems, the MECON PEERx and the Laboratory Management Index Program. We also have taken a slight detour to discuss the ORYX initiative, which has been mandated for certain types of health-care organizations accredited by the Joint Commission. In this issue we return to a more detailed analysis of one of the five most commonly used benchmarking systems for clinical services, HBS International, Inc.