Anatomic pathology quality assurance: Developing an LIS-based tracking and documentation module for intradepartmental consultations
In this 2022 paper published in Journal of Pathology Informatics, Dundar et al. of University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics describe an add-on for their laboratory information system (LIS), an electronic intradepartmental consultation system for anatomic pathology (AP), and how it impacted their facilities. After a brief introduction and background, the authors describe the methods used to adapt an AP consultation system into Epic’s AP Beaker. Noting that 7.3% of all case work was consultation, they broke down the results of implementing the more automated system and discussed how the new system improved management and documentation of the consultation process. After discussion of their results, the authors conclude that their more automated system implemented in the AP Beaker LIS improves their processes and documentation, provides better tracking of consultation cases, which in turn plays “a vital role in preventing misdiagnosis and improving pathology reporting and trainee education.”
