Turnaround time in the surgical pathology laboratory.

One measure of the efficiency of a surgical pathology service is the rapidity of reporting the diagnosis to clinicians. The turnaround time (TAT) has been used for this purpose. This study showed that the TAT for 66% of specimens submitted to the surgical pathology laboratory in the University Hospital of the West Indies was within 3 days and for 89% within 6 days. The TAT within 7 days was considered acceptable, but it was shown that it was more than 7 days for 9%, of the specimens submitted. The importance of this information is discussed and recommendations made for identifying more accurately the source of delays in those cases in which the TAT was considered to be unusually prolonged.