ANATOMIC PATHOLOGY TURNAROUND TIMES - USE AND ABUSE

Anatomic pathology service is judged by accuracy of diagnosis and rapi dity of reporting of that diagnosis to clinicians. Turnaround times ha ve been used in anatomic pathology to show Row long it takes to produc e a tissue report, Rapid tissue diagnosis is important to patients, cl inicians, administrators, and anatomic pathologists. Documentation of turnaround times (TAT) to substantiate efficient service can be simila rly important. The authors describe how turnaround times can be used a nd discuss their impact from different perspectives.