Mark Priebe
QualityStar LLC, USA
Title: When value and credibility of pathologist are dependent on getting the diagnosis right quality assurance programs in anatomic pathology can drive improved patient and provider outcomes
Biography
Biography: Mark Priebe
Abstract
Every year, 1.6 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer. Getting the diagnosis right the first time is critical to designing the appropriate treatment plan and therapy. Pathology and radiology play significant roles in the diagnostic process. When things go wrong, 46% of the errors in diagnosis come from Pathology and Radiology, while 97% of the cancer diagnosis is based on the pathology specimen. Over the past 20 years, multiple studies have shown that the rate of major discrepancies identified for cancer patients referred to another institution range from 4.2-13.1% yet published data indicates the current intralab Quality Assurance (QA) ability to detect these discrepancies is only 0.8-1.7%. This clearly identifies a gap in our current quality practice and an opportunity to improve quality assurance initiatives. This abstract reviews the formal Quality Assurance programs and how they can be utilized to provide continuous quality improvement resulting in positive patient and institution outcomes.