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Assisting Physicians in the care and treatment of their patients for 40 years.
What do pathologists have to do with tests done on my blood or urine?
Pathologists play an integral supervisory role within the laboratory. In order for a laboratory to be certified by an accrediting organization, such as the College of American Pathologists, the lab must be supervised by a pathologist.
Quality laboratory services are essential to the diagnosis and treatment of patients. Pathologist directors of hospital laboratories spend a significant amount of time and effort in fulfilling their responsibility to the patient for quality laboratory services. The pathologist is professionally responsible and legally accountable for laboratory results. To prepare for this responsibility the pathologist must complete a lengthy medical residency program. Moreover, federal certification standards and Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations standards require certain professional, organizational, and administrative services be provided in the clinical laboratory to assure quality laboratory services to patients. The pathologist-director of a hospital clinical laboratory provides professional services in:
1. Assuring that tests, examinations, and procedures are properly performed, recorded and reported.
2. Interacting with members of the medical staff regarding issues of laboratory operations, quality, and test availability.
3. Designing protocols and establishing parameters for performance of clinical testing.
4. Recommending appropriate follow-up diagnostic tests, when appropriate.
5. Supervising laboratory technical personnel and advising them regarding aberrant results.
6. Selecting, evaluating, and validating test methodologies.
7. Directing, performing, and evaluating quality assurance and control procedures.
8. Evaluating clinical laboratory's compliance with state licensure laws, Medicare conditions, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization standards, the College of American Pathologists Laboratory Accreditation Program and federal certification standards.
College of American Pathologists Professional Relations Manual, 10th edition, 1993.
Once the lab receives blood, urine, or other body fluid, the various tests ordered by your doctor are performed. The process of distributing the different fluids to the proper testing stations requires many different people.
A clerk enters the specimen into the laboratory computer. Specimens are then taken to the part of the laboratory that has the chemicals and machines required to perform the specific analysis required.
A technologist performs some tests. Technologists are laboratory personnel with the training and skills necessary to analyze samples. The technologists under the supervision of a pathologist then interpret results. If the technologist has a question about the accuracy of a result, or if the result is unusual, they bring the case to the attention of the pathologist. At this point, the pathologist assists them in confirming that the result is correct, and will interpret any unusual results. If the results are unusual, the pathologist will frequently contact the physician who ordered the test and discuss the results with them.
Machines perform other tests. These machines require diligent oversight on a daily basis in order to insure that the results generated are correct. Pathologists are ultimately responsible for this oversight, as well as the introduction of new tests to the laboratory.
All tests done in a laboratory must have written procedures to instruct the technicians in how to perform them. Pathologists review these procedures on a regular basis to insure their accuracy.
Pathologists and laboratorians are directly involved in the systematic detection and prevention of errors through proficiency testing, quality control, and the continuing education and certification of laboratory personnel.