QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PRACTICES IN CLINICAL AND ANATOMIC PATHOLOGY SERVICES - A COLLEGE-OF-AMERICAN-PATHOLOGISTS Q-PROBES STUDY OF THE PROGRAM CHARACTERISTICS AND PERFORMANCE IN 580 INSTITUTIONS

Participants of the College of American Pathologists Q-Probes program described their quality improvement practices for clinical and anatomi c pathology. In 580 institutions, the median time required for a media n of 12 indicators of quality was 40 hours/month, with the number of i ndicators and the time spent directly dependent on bed size (P = .0001 ). The overwhelming majority of participants reported benefit from the ir quality improvement programs in terms of patient outcomes, as a man agement tool, and for risk management. Six indicators in clinical path ology and four indicators in anatomic pathology were used in more than 75% of laboratories, whereas an additional seven indicators in clinic al pathology and five in anatomic pathology were used in more than 50% of laboratories. The authors conclude that quality improvement practi ces are similar among laboratories, and irrespective of increasing reg ulatory requirements, pathologists and senior laboratory personnel spe nd large amounts of time for activities that they believe improve the quality of services rendered.