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.
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 Nosé
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
Raouf E. Nakhleh, MD
Professor of Pathology
Mayo Clinic Florida
Jacksonville, Florida USA
