Guest Spot: Putting a 'CAP' on Pathology Reporting

By: Mike Valentine - VP, North American Sales - mTuitive Software

Hospital pathology laboratories are under the gun to meet the College of American Pathologists’ (CAP) new, stricter reporting guidelines.

In order to be in compliance, laboratories have until August 1st, 2010 at which point they must have implemented and adopted the 2010 versions of the CAP Protocols & Checklists - which contain elements from the new AJCC Cancer Staging Manual. This new standard has long been an American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer requirement for Accredited Cancer Programs but CAP has now expanded these standards to all pathology-reporting laboratories.

Laboratory Directors must ask themselves several questions:.

1. How can we quickly implement the checklists?
2. How will this affect pathologists’ workflow?
3. Who is going to maintain new checklists whenever they’re released?
4. Will the synoptic reporting solution integrate with our MEDITECH pathology module?

Pathologists must be engaged immediately to discuss what, if any, changes to workflow will occur. The most efficient way for a laboratory to comply is by purchasing an electronic synoptic reporting system used directly by the pathologists. The return on investment is immediate as a result of reduced transcription costs. Pathologists also have the ability to sign a case out immediately, eliminating the need to review and edit a case. Turn-around-time of pathology reports is greatly reduced and reports are noticeably more accurate and complete as a result of built-in logic and error checking.

When a laboratory purchases synoptic reporting software, the vendor should update and maintain the content of the CAP checklists as part of the annual maintenance and support agreement. Laboratories should rest assured that no matter what changes the CAP makes, their vendor will implement them within days to weeks.

If, while seeking an electronic synoptic reporting solution, you learn that it will be the responsibility of the laboratory to obtain the CAP checklists and build the application yourself, keep looking. The amount of time required to build and, ultimately, maintain these checklists is prohibitive and more expensive than purchasing a software program.

Mike Valentine, VP of North American Sales, joined the mTuitive team in the fall of 2004. He graduated from Brown University in 1991 with a double business major and is currently mTuitive’s Vice President of North American Sales. Customer service and satisfaction being tops on Mike’s priority list, he also manages projects and oversees implementations. To learn more about the new CAP guidelines for synoptic reporting, you can contact Mike at mike.valentine@mtuitive.com or 508- 771-5800.