Software solution for integration of frozen section quality assurance into daily practice

Diagnoses rendered using the frozen section (FS) technique during surgical procedures are used to guide intraoperative decisions. Therefore, diagnostic FS errors have the potential to affect patient safety and quality of care. Diagnostic FS errors arise due to both technical and interpretative factors and present a challenge to surgical pathology laboratories to recognize, document, and manage in a timely fashion. Thus, there is a need to monitor discrepancies between FS and permanent diagnoses and effectively communicate with the clinical teams when an error is discovered to ensure an opportunity for timely interventions, if clinically indicated.

Our FS practice is complex, with many contributing variables, such as a partially generalized FS pathology practice model among pathology faculty and/or surgeons with specific subspecialty expertise and different physical locations of FS facilities. We implemented a comprehensive frozen section quality assurance (FSQA) program using custom software solutions aimed at improving patient safety by monitoring recognition, increasing documentation, and facilitating communication in cases where there is a discordance between intraoperative and permanent diagnoses.

Our FSQA program allows for categorizing frozen section discrepancies according to the source of error, such as interpretive vs technical errors, to understand how errors arise and to develop appropriate mitigation strategies for reducing errors.

Overall, our intervention to improve FSQA has engaged pathology faculty in a uniform and systematic manner, and our data show that our new FSQA program led to a markedly shortened time interval of FSQA, allowing for timely management and resolution of errors.