Patient safety and error reduction in surgical pathology

Area of Science:

• Medical Diagnostics
• Laboratory Medicine
• Surgical Pathology

Background:

• National patient safety goals necessitate error reduction efforts in surgical pathology laboratories.
• Continuous quality improvement (CQI) is crucial for enhancing patient safety in pathology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review patient safety and error reduction issues in surgical pathology.
• To examine these issues within the framework of continuous quality improvement.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature review was conducted.
• Analysis focused on preanalytic, analytic, and postanalytic phases of the testing cycle.

Main Results:

• Multiple factors contribute to errors across all segments of the surgical pathology test cycle.
• The extent of these problems is defined by current literature.
• Potential solutions and general principles for error reduction are identified.

Conclusions:

• Patient safety goals are achievable through a robust quality improvement plan.
• Implementing identified solutions can significantly reduce or prevent errors.
• General principles enhance a laboratory's capacity for sustained patient safety and error reduction efforts.