Indirect Hours....

Indirect hours are worked hours not directly involved in the completion of the KVI.  Examples of indirect hours are:

• Orientation Hours

• Staff Meeting Hours

• Inservice Hours

• Fixed Activities Hours

• Clerical Hours

• Management Hours

• Trauma Hours

• Breaks Hours

• Miscellaneous Hours

When measuring productivity it is vital to account for indirect hours.  These hours are NOT “DIRECT” hours.  For example, if administration dictates that all staff should receive 8 hours of training, those training hours must be pulled out of the "DIRECT" hours since staff was not performing duties directly related to KVI.

The use of the indirect hours in the IMS system gives management the ability to remove all hours not associated with providing the services of the main function of the cost center.  In essence, once these hours have been removed, the remaining hours available are required to take care of our patients.

When the hours are removed the remaining “direct” hours can be compared to the “actual”, or time standard generated requirements.  Time standards specify the amount of time it takes for staff to complete specific KVI's.  These hours are referred to as direct hours. 

The Transmittal screen allows the manager to enter the actual indirect hours for the pay period.  The indirect hours should be budgeted every year and compared to actual every pay period and month. 

Orientation Hours

Orientation hours are most common with employees new to the hospital or the cost centers.  In many cost centers orientation is extensive and can last for months.  In this case the manger should decrease the orientation hours as the person becomes more familiar with the completion of KVI. 

Staff Meeting Hours

These hours would include staff meetings, special project teams and medical staff meetings.  Be careful not to double count managers, clerical and fixed staff that are already accounted for in “indirect”.

Clerical Hours

Clerical time is time used in support functions.  These hours are required to operate a cost center regardless of the KVI volume. These hours vary from cost center to cost center.  An example of clerical hours would be an administrative assistant answering the phone for 8 hours.  Someone must be there to answer the phone regardless of the patient volume.

Inservice Hours

Inservice hours are hours used to train staff on new equipment or procedures.  This should be accounted for when direct patient care procedures cannot be completed simultaneously.  Maintaining competency hours are typically counted.  Some examples of this are:  CPR certification, computer and equipment training.

Fixed Hours

Fixed hours are hours used in support functions.  These hours are required to operate a cost center regardless of the KVI volume and are defined and established while working with the Management Systems team. These hours vary from cost center to cost center.  File clerks in medical records are utilized to improve the flow of the department but are not tied to KVI’s.  GI lab scope cleaners can be classified as fixed.

Management Hours

Management hours are hours a manager spends performing management duties not directly related to the KVI.  A manager by definition is a person who gives direction to other employees to meet the cost centers function.  The scope of the manager changes based on the position the person holds. A cost center director typically spends 100% of their time directing the cost centers resources (labor and materials).

A section leader may spend 25% of their time managing and 75% of their time performing direct activities (KVIs) related to the cost centers function.  Typical job titles that fall into this fractional classification include:

• Directors

• Unit Managers

• Supervisors

• Section Leaders

• Coordinators

• Lead Technicians

The time spent by the above classifications while performing management responsibilities should be placed in management indirect hours on the Transmittal screen. Managers that split their time working as both direct and indirect, the hours spent as management should be identified and entered into the system. The remaining hours will automatically be allocated to direct hours. Example: If a manager was paid 80 hours in a pay period and all 80 hours were spent on management functions (excluding paid time off) 80 hours would be entered into the Transmittal screen for the pay period. If a manager was paid 80 hours and 40 of those hours were vacation, you would enter 40 hours into the Transmittal Screen.