A Computerized System for Uniform Reporting of Personnel Costs and Assignments

In 1972 the Minnesota state hospital system implemented a uniform system for reporting personnel costs and time, using the state payroll computer system. The print-outs give data for each of the ten state hospitals and for all combined, enabling them to be compared. The data are expressed in terms of patient days and are broken down by subgroups of patients and special programs. The authors cite the advantages of uniform reporting for evaluation and development, but warn against its potential hazard of pressuring the hospitals toward uniform programming.