Main description:

Tissue diagnosis in surgical pathology is the most important determinant of patient outcomes in oncology and other medical conditions. An appropriate diagnosis of a tumor correctly determines the necessary therapy for that patient. Error Reduction and Prevention in Surgical Pathology focuses on how errors happen, the best systems to detect errors and the best systems to prevent errors. As with any form of testing, the test cycle in surgical pathology can be divided into pre-analytic (collection and handling of specimens), analytic (the actual determination of disease or other diagnostic information) and post-analytic (generation of reports and distribution). Error can occur anywhere in the process and all of these steps must be performed optimally so that the correct diagnosis is made and delivered. Error Reduction and Prevention in Surgical Pathology serves as an essential guide to a successfully managed laboratory and contains all relevant information needed to manage patients and deliver the best diagnosis.

Contents:

1. Introduction

Raouf E. Nakhleh

2. The Landscape of Error in Surgical Pathology

Frederick A. Meier

3. General Principles of How Errors Occur and How They May Be Reduced

Maxwell L. Smith and Stephen S. Raab

Section: Pre-Analytic Factors Contributing to Errors and Error Prevention

4. Error Reduction in the Preanalytical Process

Richard Brown

5. Application of Lean Principles to Pre-Analytic and Analytic Processes

Anil Vasdev Parwani, Seung Lyung Park, and Liron Pantanowitz

Section: Analytic Factors Leading to Errors

6. Clinical History and Clinical Correlation

Keith E. Volmar

7. Knowledge, Training, and Experience

Amelia Huck and Vania Nose

8. Standardization of Diagnostic Terminology and Criteria: A Prelude for Error Reduction

Raouf E. Nakhleh

9. Ancillary studies: Contribution to Error and Error Prevention

Paul Swanson

10. Optimization of Case Reviews in Different Practice Settings

Raouf E. Nakhleh

Section: Post-Analytic Factors Leading to Errors and Error Prevention

11. The Complete Surgical Pathology Report

Michael O. Idowu

12. Communicating Effectively in Surgical Pathology

Carolyn Mies

13. Error Prevention in Transcription and Report Distribution

Shannon J. McCall

14. Error Management: Legal and Regulatory Responsibilities

Timothy Craig Allen