Development and Utilization of a Patient-Oriented Outpatient Guidance System.

Objectives: To develop a tool which can easily access the hospital information system (HIS) to facilitate outpatient care and maximize patient satisfaction on his or her hospital visit.

Methods: Our Center for Informatics developed an outpatient guidance system (OGS) after careful analysis of the list of daily tasks undergone by patients and related work processes. Bluetooth beacons were installed to assist patients, to inform them of points of interest, and to guide them along the proper routes to and within the hospital.

Application of BRAF, NRAS, KRAS mutations as markers for the detection of papillary thyroid cancer from FNAB specimens by pyrosequencing analysis.

Background: BRAFV600E, the most common BRAF gene mutation, is detected in approximately 50% of sporadic papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and may be associated with triggering tumorigenesis of PTC. The aim of our study was to discover additional mutations to increase the diagnostic performance of molecular tests in screening for thyroid cancer from fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) specimens.

Methods: DNA was extracted from 120 freshly obtained FNAB specimens selected according to cytopathology grades of the Bethesda system.