Dermatopathologist assessment of "pathologist-to-dermatologist" communication for dermatopathology services.

Background: While patients are the ultimate beneficiaries of pathology services, pathologist to clinician communication is an essential component of excellent patient care.

Objective: To survey dermatologists on how well pathologists communicate with them and to assess which aspects of pathologists' communication skills are deemed most significant to dermatologists, stratified by practice type.

Methods: A survey-based instrument was developed and sent to dermatologists through various email listservs. Of the approximately 400 potential Association of Professors of Dermatology respondents, 64 returned the survey questionnaire (response rate 16%). Of the 79 state and regional dermatologic societies, seven agreed to distribute the survey on their listservs (response rate 9%).

Results: Surveyed dermatologists believe that the pathologists with whom they work are meeting expectations in the areas of diagnostic accuracy, communicating pertinent information in a timely fashion, integrating written pathology reports into the electronic medical record, and making a clinically meaningful histopathologic interpretation. Discussion of cost of ancillary testing is an area of improvement. University affiliated dermatologists are more likely to use electronic medical records as their predominant mode of communication compared to community dermatologists with and without academic affiliations. Community dermatologists are more likely to use faxed written pathology reports as their predominant mode of communication.

Conclusion: Physician-to-physician communication is a key component of effective patient care. When it comes to dermatopathology services, dermatologists appear overall satisfied with the indicators examined, however, potential opportunities for improvement exist.