A New Era in Pathology Consultation

Abstract

Pathologists and laboratory scientists provide valuable guidance on laboratory utilization, test ordering, interpretation, and quality control provided that clinical staff can easily access the laboratory team. To encourage consultation between clinicians with laboratory scientists and pathologists, we developed an easily accessible electronic tool termed “MyPathologist,” placed on the homepage of our electronic health record system. Over its 2-year pilot, utilization of this consultation tool climbed as we continued to publicize it and incorporated education into housestaff onboarding and electronic health record training. Physician satisfaction with the tool was high. Additionally, this became the primary source of consults to our residency call service. Evaluation of MyPathologist questions received during its pilot period showed that more than half the questions were of significant educational value to the residents, often focusing on results interpretation, appropriate test ordering, and quality control. MyPathologist is a novel electronic tool for pathology consultation within our electronic health record and also represents an avenue for educating residents, improving utilization of the laboratory, and improving patient care.

An Electronic Communication Workflow Optimization for Inpatient Specialist Consultation at an Academic Health Care System

“…5 Other efforts have demonstrated potential for decreased errors, including permanent team pager numbers, care team identification, and messaging platforms. 6 7 8 9 One system to contact consultants directly improved team communication, 10 though there is still need for further research to determine the most effective method for consulting specialists, and what the impact would be on time to consult by directly reaching consultants through the EHR.…”