Superficial fine needle aspiration by clinicians: a survey of utilization

Quality assurance is as much concerned with cost, turnaround time, and use of resources as with test reliability and outcome. The cytopathologist needs to be aware of the knowledge base and expectations of clinicians who perform fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsies of superficial lesions without technical assistance. To this end, a single correct answer multiple choice questionnaire was sent to 82 procedure-oriented clinical faculty members. Completed answer sheets from 35 faculty members were analyzed. The score for fee and turnaround time was 63.2 per cent and for knowledge of technique 70.6 per cent. The overall score for use of FNA was 64.7 per cent and for specimen handling was 45.6 per cent. Of those 65 per cent of participants who made comments, 30 per cent stressed importance of shorter turnaround time and 27 per cent emphasized the need for training in this area of endeavor. It is concluded that the quality of diagnosis can be improved by placing greater emphasis on training and education, the provision of written material, courses or tutorials in technique, written and verbal feedback regarding specimen adequacy, and by making more extensive use of electronic transmission of results.