QUALITY IMPROVEMENT APPROACHES - SURVEY OF PATHOLOGISTS SERVING THE PEDIATRIC-PATIENT

A questionnaire was circulated in 1990 by the Practice Committee of th e Society for Pediatric Pathology to its membership to assess the invo lvement of pediatric pathology departments (PPDs) in quality improveme nt (QI) activities. Twenty-nine PPDs responded. Analysis of responses disclosed a wide variation in plans, although the majority (22 of 29) had developed or were in the process of developing (three of 29) a spe cific plan. The plans varied in sophistication and complexity. Pediatr ic pathologists (directors or designates) were heavily involved in ass uming leadership roles for the QI activities in 25 of 28 PPDs. The PPD s with plans (25) had identified the QI indicators monitored either sp oradically or on an ongoing basis, The respondents had several indicat ors in common, such as volume, technical, and clinical indicators, as well as indicators related to turnaround times, meetings, and internal and external consultations. The plurality of the monitors reported ar e related to indicators in the discipline of anatomic pathology. This review is therefore limited to QI issues in anatomic pediatric patholo gy. In conclusion, this survey functions to shed some light on the ext ent of involvement of PPDs in the management of QI. In addition, it pr ovides a model for starting or improving the existing QI plans for PPD s.