tively. This shows a significant increase for all regions compared with the previous survey. The use of a productivity index as a measure of staff performance was recorded in 56% of respondents from North America, 69% from Australia, 45% from the Nordic countries, 26% from Western Europe and just 14% from Southern Europe. In Latin America, the majority of departments use a productivity index (56%), but few have quality assurance programs. Comparison with the previous survey shows an increase in departments evaluating staff productivity using a productivity index. This has been facilitated by computerized systems for equipment management as more than 90% of the departments in all regions reported their use, with this figure being 69% for Latin America