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Obtaining consult pathology slides—the vital first step in a cancer patient’s care—is now 35 percent faster, thanks to a Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center-led improvement project.
The Patient Slide Flow Project began in January 2006 as part of a broader effort to streamline accessibility to the center.
“The pathology reports are available five days sooner since implementing the new process in July, yet we continue to adjust the process to further reduce turnaround time,” said Gena Gough, the team’s project manager. “For Phase 2, we have begun exploring simplification of the process in the BWH outpatient clinics.”
Anne Gross, RN, MS, vice president for Adult Ambulatory Services at DFCI, said, “These projects illustrate the importance of bringing the right people to the table, from both sides of the street, as we all work together to further integrate DF/BWCC care.”
The multidisciplinary project team made several recommendations that led to this new and improved process. Now, Jessica Gillette and Evangelina Prosper in the DFCI Central Pathology Processing Office, make sure the slides arrive safely. They verify and label samples clearly marked for this location and record them in a computerized database before a courier hand delivers the samples to BWH Pathology for analysis.
With this standardized delivery and processing of the slides, the new process significantly reduces delays for clinicians devising a patient care plan.
“We can’t offer a complete opinion on a treatment plan without accurate pathology,” said Craig Bunnell, MD, MPH, breast oncologist. “It is critical that we take advantage of our own laboratory expertise, which is among the best in the world.”
“By opening our minds and hearts to improvement, we were able to work together to make our work behind the scenes more efficient,” said John McCabe, a laboratory administrator for BWH and DFCI.