Informatics driven quality improvement in the modern histology lab

Robert P Seifert; Vektra Casler; Nada Al Qaysi; Shaileshbhai Revabhai Gothi; Leah Williams; Patricia R Christensen; Sherri Flax; Srikar Chamala

doi:10.1093/jamiaopen/ooaa066

Informatics driven quality improvement in the modern histology lab

JAMIA Open. 2020 Nov 30;3(4):530-535. doi: 10.1093/jamiaopen/ooaa066. eCollection 2020 Dec.

Authors

Robert P Seifert¹, Vektra Casler¹, Nada Al Qaysi¹, Shaileshbhai Revabhai Gothi², Leah Williams³, Patricia R Christensen³, Sherri Flax¹, Srikar Chamala¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
² Department of Computer and Information Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
³ UF Health Medical Laboratories, Gainesville, Florida, USA.

Abstract

Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) and data visualization techniques have untapped potential in anatomic pathology laboratories. Pre-built functionalities of LIS do not address all the needs of a modern histology laboratory. For instance, "Go live" is not the end of LIS customization, but just the beginning. After closely evaluating various histology lab workflows, we implemented several custom data analytics dashboards and additional LIS functionalities to monitor and address weaknesses. Herein, we present our experience in LIS and data-tracking solutions that improved trainee education, slide logistics, staffing/instrumentation lobbying, and task tracking. The latter was addressed through the creation of a novel "status board" akin to those seen in inpatient wards. These use-cases can benefit other histology laboratories.

Keywords: clinical laboratory information systems; data visualization; histology; medical informatics; surgical pathology.

Publication types

Case Reports