[Delegation and the Efficient Use of Medical Personnel - Ideas During Times of Physician Shortage].

BACKGROUND Patient care is a cost intensive process and an important fraction of these costs is the salary of medical staff. Efficient use, especially in times of physician shortage, should thus be of great importance to hospital management. We aim to calculate the costs and resulting saving potential from delegation of tasks, that are performed by medical personnel, but could in principle be delegated. MATERIALS AND METHODS The calculation is based on the survey "Nachwuchsumfrage" of the Berufsverband and German Society of Surgery (n = 708). Satisfaction, limiting factors and time spent on tasks that could be delegated were assessed. From the average physician's salary and the salary of personnel that could be delegated to costs and potential savings were calculated. RESULTS The surveyed surgeons spent an average of 124 min per day on tasks that could in principle be delegated. In total, costs through unused delegation were calculated at over 16,000 € per year and staff member, with a saving potential of up to 7,000 € despite full delegation. DISCUSSION Our simple calculation shows the saving potential through adequate task delegation. Apart from the monetary aspects, a positive effect on physician staff satisfaction can be assumed, as unused delegation potential was the leading cause for decreased satisfaction.