News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

Hosted by Robert Michel

News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

Hosted by Robert Michel
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Medical Laboratory Quality and Anatomic Pathology Errors among Issues Discussed during Lab Quality Management Conference in Vancouver

Improved diagnostic technologies and more sophisticated software tools allow innovative clinical lab managers to more precisely measure the accuracy of their lab’s analytical results

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA—In this beautiful port city, a national gathering of clinical laboratory and anatomic pathology experts convened last week and tackled serious issues concerning the accuracy and integrity of the diagnostic test results produced by labs in Canada and other developed nations.

One big take-away from this meeting was that the bar is being raised for the quality of the lab test results produced by a medical laboratory. Issues of bias, variability, and inaccuracy that accompany the technologies and methods used by clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups were front and center during all three days of the meeting. (more…)

Why Public Disclosure of Anatomic Pathology Errors in Canada, But No Similar Events Reported in the United States?

As healthcare systems make patient safety a greater priority, the public reporting of pathology errors in Canada has no comparable track record in the United States

Errors in anatomic pathology  testing in the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan made media headlines this summer. In each case, it was just a limited number of cases where errors at pathology labs resulted in inaccurate diagnoses and, in at least one case, a needless mastectomy for a patient.

At a time when health systems in Canada, the United States, and other developed nations are giving great emphasis to patient safety, disclosure of life-changing diagnostic errors to patients is appropriate. Consumers are holding physicians—including surgical pathologists—to a higher standard of care. (more…)

In Recent Months, Health Officials in Alberta Disclose Diagnostic Errors by Two Pathologists and a Radiologist

Public awaits findings from board of inquiry empaneled by the Alberta Health System

Once more, a province in Canada is dealing with public disclosure of unacceptable rates of errors in anatomic pathology testing services. This time it is the healthcare system of Alberta. Since November, the public has learned about two separate cases of individual pathologists who were determined to have misdiagnosed cancer cases.

But pathology errors turned out to be only part of this story. Public concern in Alberta about the quality of diagnostics services was further heightened by another round of newspaper stories later in December. This time, the news was about the discovery of imaging errors made by a radiologist working in one of Alberta’s hospitals.

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In Bristol, England, Errors in Anatomic Pathology Is an Issue That Refuses to Die

Critics of an inquiry into histopathology errors at the Royal Bristol Infirmary argue that as many as 6,800 cases over eight year may have errors in diagnosis

In Bristol, England, the issue of serious errors in the anatomic pathology service of the Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) during the years 2000 to 2008 refuses to go away. Earlier this year, critics of an inquiry commissioned by the parent health trust became vocal once again after public notice was given of plans to consolidate histopathology services in the region.

These critics continue to be upset about how the inquiry into ongoing problems with the anatomic pathology service at BRI was conducted during 2009 and 2010. Newspapers in the United Kingdom have given the story wide play. Stories were published about pathology errors at BRI and the public learned about the misdiagnoses of specific cancer patients whose names became known.
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Pathology Errors Trigger Efforts to Improve Standards in Canadian Medical Labs

New National Pathology Council Will Tackle Quality Issues, But Pathologist Understaffing Remains in Some Regions

In Canada, anatomic pathology has a public black eye due to disclosures of pathology misdiagnoses occurring in multiple medical laboratories over the past six years. One big lesson from these events is that public trust in the integrity of clinical laboratory tests is a precious asset that must be protected.

Now comes news that pathologists in Canada will squarely address the issue of pathology test integrity in their nation. Following a series of meetings, pathologists last month announced the creation of the Canadian Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Leadership Council (CPLMLC). Its mission will be to implement a quality-assurance system to address issues that cause medical errors in pathology laboratory testing. Its goal is to reduce or eliminate these sources of medical errors.
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