QUALITY ASSURANCE IN ANATOMIC PATHOLOGY - AUTOMATED SNOMED CODING

This case study details the set-up and implementation of the PathNet a utocoder (Cerner Corporation) in a busy anatomic pathology laboratory. After initial start-up, procedures were developed to improve the syst em's performance. Four classes of software coding errors were identifi ed, and an index was developed to measure the number of cases between errors (CBE). Through modifications in the program, the CBE increased sharply by the end of the six-month study period. During the last thre e months of the study, the efficiency of case retrieval was tested by comparing manual and electronic methods on the same reference cases. T his demonstrated significant time saving and removed the variability o f manual coding. The technique employed in this study may assist other institutions seeking to implement such a coding system within their r espective environments.