Gynecologic cytology turnaround time - A College of American Pathologists Q-Probes study of 371 laboratories

Objectives.-To determine the turnaround time for gynecologic cytology in a large sample of laboratories and to identify laboratory and specimen charac teristics associated with better and worse performance. Design and Setting-Prospective evaluation of gynecologic cytology turnaroun d times in 371 laboratories. Main Outcome Measure.-Gynecologic cytology case turnaround time. Results.-Three hundred seventy-one laboratories submitted information regar ding laboratory characteristics and processes, and turnaround times of 66 0 42 gynecologic cytology cases. Half of the participating laboratories had m ean turnaround times of 6 calendar days or less and were able to complete 9 0% of their cases within 8 calendar days. Ten percent of participants had m ean turnaround times greater than 13 days and required 19 or more days to r eport 90% of their cases. Longer turnaround times were associated with the use of reference laboratories for all or part of the evaluation; contacting the physician's office for additional information; using cytotechnology st udents, residents, or fellows in the evaluation; and providing service on t he weekend. Conclusion.-Practice patterns contribute to the long turnaround times for g ynecologic cytology found in some laboratories and may be improved by local site-specific process analysis.