Anatomic pathology quality assurance: Developing an LIS based tracking and documentation module for intradepartmental consultations.

Background: An electronic intradepartmental consultation system for anatomic pathology (AP) was conceived and developed in the laboratory information system (LIS) in 2019. Previously, all surgical pathology intradepartmental consultative activities were initiated and documented with paper forms which circulated with the pertinent microscopic slides and were eventually filed. In this study, we discuss the implementation and utilization of an electronic intradepartmental AP consultation system.

Nationwide practices in the use of central venous catheters for therapeutic plasma exchange in the inpatient setting.

Introduction: Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is often impacted by difficulties in obtaining an adequate and safe vascular access. This study evaluated the rates, predictive factors, and clinical outcomes associated with central venous catheter (CVC) use during the inpatient TPE procedures.

Methods: The Nationwide Readmissions Database, 2016 to 2017 was used to identify hospitalizations with TPE with and without CVC insertion.

Teaching Pathology in an Integrated Preclinical Medical School Curriculum and Adaptations to COVID-19 Restrictions.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a major impact on education at all age levels, including professional schools and health professions programs. We describe the experience of adapting preclinical medical school courses within an integrated curriculum to virtual instruction. A major feature of two of the courses were pathology small groups adapted from pathology courses in the previous medical school curriculum.

Frozen Section Quality Assurance.

Objectives: Composite frozen section turnaround time has limited value, precluding assessment of certain processes: slide preparation (technical) and diagnosis (interpretation). We examined whether measuring these elements could identify delays, hypothesizing that longer times were related to (1) inefficient technical processes and (2) case-specific diagnostic challenges.

Methods: Technical and interpretive times were determined for 1,992 specimens submitted for frozen section in 2017; the data were sorted by surgical specialty.

Artificial Intelligence in Pathology: A Simple and Practical Guide.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is having an increasing impact on the field of pathology, as computation techniques allow computers to perform tasks previously performed by people. Here, we offer a simple and practical guide to AI methods used in pathology, such as digital image analysis, next-generation sequencing, and natural language processing. We not only provide a comprehensive review, but also discuss relevant history and future directions of AI in pathology.

Implementation of Epic Beaker Anatomic Pathology at an Academic Medical Center.

Background: Beaker is a relatively new laboratory information system (LIS) offered by Epic Systems Corporation as part of its suite of health-care software and bundled with its electronic medical record, EpicCare. It is divided into two modules, Beaker anatomic pathology (Beaker AP) and Beaker Clinical Pathology. In this report, we describe our experience implementing Beaker AP version 2014 at an academic medical center with a go-live date of October 2015.

Preferred Names, Preferred Pronouns, and Gender Identity in the Electronic Medical Record and Laboratory Information System: Is Pathology Ready?

Background: Electronic medical records (EMRs) and laboratory information systems (LISs) commonly utilize patient identifiers such as legal name, sex, medical record number, and date of birth. There have been recommendations from some EMR working groups (e.g.

Implementation of Epic Beaker Clinical Pathology at an academic medical center.

Background: Epic Beaker Clinical Pathology (CP) is a relatively new laboratory information system (LIS) operating within the Epic suite of software applications. To date, there have not been any publications describing implementation of Beaker CP. In this report, we describe our experience in implementing Beaker CP version 2012 at a state academic medical center with a go-live of August 2014 and a subsequent upgrade to Beaker version 2014 in May 2015.

Use of a data warehouse at an academic medical center for clinical pathology quality improvement, education, and research.

Background: Pathology data contained within the electronic health record (EHR), and laboratory information system (LIS) of hospitals represents a potentially powerful resource to improve clinical care. However, existing reporting tools within commercial EHR and LIS software may not be able to efficiently and rapidly mine data for quality improvement and research applications.

Materials And Methods: We present experience using a data warehouse produced collaboratively between an academic medical center and a private company.

Pilot clinical trial of hedgehog pathway inhibitor GDC-0449 (vismodegib) in combination with gemcitabine in patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Purpose: The hedgehog (HH) signaling pathway is a key regulator in tumorigenesis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma and is upregulated in pancreatic adenocarcinoma cancer stem cells (CSCs). GDC-0449 is an oral small-molecule inhibitor of the HH pathway. This study assessed the effect of GDC-0449-mediated HH inhibition in paired biopsies, followed by combined treatment with gemcitabine, in patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Cross-reactivity of steroid hormone immunoassays: clinical significance and two-dimensional molecular similarity prediction.

Background: Immunoassays are widely used in clinical laboratories for measurement of plasma/serum concentrations of steroid hormones such as cortisol and testosterone. Immunoassays can be performed on a variety of standard clinical chemistry analyzers, thus allowing even small clinical laboratories to do analysis on-site. One limitation of steroid hormone immunoassays is interference caused by compounds with structural similarity to the target steroid of the assay.

Autoverification in a core clinical chemistry laboratory at an academic medical center.

Background: Autoverification is a process of using computer-based rules to verify clinical laboratory test results without manual intervention. To date, there is little published data on the use of autoverification over the course of years in a clinical laboratory. We describe the evolution and application of autoverification in an academic medical center clinical chemistry core laboratory.