[Accreditation in pathology. Systematic presentation and documentation of activities in pathology]

In the last ten years, almost 60 departments of surgical pathology were accredited in Germany according to DIN EN ISO/IEC 17020. Accreditation in pathology was accompanied by the adoption of a highly dynamic process, which requires staff to be more aware of quality and to introduce a quality-oriented system. The accreditation body in turn needed to consider all the duties, responsibilities and processes in surgical pathology and was supported in this regard by the Sector Committee of Pathology and Neuropathology of the DGA German Association for Accreditation. In this review we illustrate the various problems associated with accreditation in surgical pathology by answering eight questions that have arisen over many years of activity. These include the registration and appropriate presentation of the scope of accreditation, the terminology, as well as the extent and depth of documentation. A department of pathology applying for accreditation is required to document the entire step-wise process leading to a surgical pathological diagnosis.