CONTEXT: Good communication of pathologic characteristics of a malignancy is crucial to therapy choices and accurate prognostication. The information must be easily retrieved from a surgical pathology report. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate, first in 1999, the quality of surgical pathology reports for segmental breast resections for cancer in Quebec hospitals. Subsequently, to reevaluate, in 2003, the same indicators to determine if the first surveillance, with feedback, was associated with an improvement in the quality of the reports. DESIGN: All Quebec hospitals performing the preset number of 20 or more segmental breast resections for cancer in 1999 and 2003 participated. A committee of pathologists, after review of the literature, chose 7 diagnostic elements deemed vital to a surgical pathology report for conservative breast cancer surgery. Medical archivists in each institution were instructed on how to retrieve the data. The main outcome measure was the presence or absence of the diagnostic information clearly presented on the surgical pathology report. RESULTS: Fifty-one hospitals participated in 1999 and 50 in 2003. Overall, conformity improved from 85.0% in 1999 for the first evaluation to 92.5% in 2003 for the second evaluation (P < .001). Six of the 7 indicators showed an improvement in the level of conformity between the first and second evaluations. Conformity was weakest for recording the distance between the tumor and the resection margin (68.2%) and vascular/lymphatic invasion (61.4%) in 1999. CONCLUSIONS: Surveillance of quality of surgical pathology reports, with feedback, is significantly associated with an improvement in the quality of reports.
CONTEXT: Good communication of pathologic characteristics of a malignancy is crucial to therapy choices and accurate prognostication. The information must be easily retrieved from a surgical pathology report. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate, first in 1999, the quality of surgical pathology reports for segmental breast resections for cancer in Quebec hospitals. Subsequently, to reevaluate, in 2003, the same indicators to determine if the first surveillance, with feedback, was associated with an improvement in the quality of the reports. DESIGN: All Quebec hospitals performing the preset number of 20 or more segmental breast resections for cancer in 1999 and 2003 participated. A committee of pathologists, after review of the literature, chose 7 diagnostic elements deemed vital to a surgical pathology report for conservative breast cancer surgery. Medical archivists in each institution were instructed on how to retrieve the data. The main outcome measure was the presence or absence of the diagnostic information clearly presented on the surgical pathology report. RESULTS: Fifty-one hospitals participated in 1999 and 50 in 2003. Overall, conformity improved from 85.0% in 1999 for the first evaluation to 92.5% in 2003 for the second evaluation (P < .001). Six of the 7 indicators showed an improvement in the level of conformity between the first and second evaluations. Conformity was weakest for recording the distance between the tumor and the resection margin (68.2%) and vascular/lymphatic invasion (61.4%) in 1999. CONCLUSIONS: Surveillance of quality of surgical pathology reports, with feedback, is significantly associated with an improvement in the quality of reports.
Authors: Christine Laronga; Jhanelle E Gray; Erin M Siegel; Ji-Hyun Lee; William J Fulp; Michelle Fletcher; Fred Schreiber; Richard Brown; Richard Levine; Thomas Cartwright; Guillermo Abesada-Terk; George Kim; Carlos Alemany; Douglas Faig; Phillip Sharp; Merry-Jennifer Markham; David Shibata; Mokenge Malafa; Paul B Jacobsen Journal: J Am Coll Surg Date: 2014-07-01 Impact factor: 6.113
Authors: Erin M Siegel; Paul B Jacobsen; Mokenge Malafa; William Fulp; Michelle Fletcher; Ji-Hyun Lee; Jesusa Corazon R Smith; Richard Brown; Richard Levine; Thomas Cartwright; Guillermo Abesada-Terk; George Kim; Carlos Alemany; Douglas Faig; Philip Sharp; Merry-Jennifer Markham; David Shibata Journal: J Oncol Pract Date: 2012-06-12 Impact factor: 3.840
Authors: Erin M Siegel; Paul B Jacobsen; Ji-Hyun Lee; Mokenge Malafa; William Fulp; Michelle Fletcher; Jesusa Corazon R Smith; Richard Brown; Richard Levine; Thomas Cartwright; Guillermo Abesada-Terk; George Kim; Carlos Alemany; Douglas Faig; Philip Sharp; Merry-Jennifer Markham; David Shibata Journal: J Am Coll Surg Date: 2013-11-23 Impact factor: 6.113
Authors: P A van Dam; L Verkinderen; J Hauspy; P Vermeulen; L Dirix; M Huizing; S Altintas; K Papadimitriou; M Peeters; W Tjalma Journal: Facts Views Vis Obgyn Date: 2013