Turnaround time in the surgical pathology laboratory

One measure of the efficiency of a surgical pathology service is the rapidi ty of reporting the diagnosis to clinicians. The turnaround time (TAT) has been used for this purpose. This study showed that the TAT for 66% of speci mens submitted to the surgical pathology laboratory in the University Hospi tal of the West Indias was within 3 days and for 89% within 6 days. The TAT within 7 days was considered acceptable, but it was shown that it was more than 7 days for 9%, of the specimens submitted. The importance of this inf ormation is discussed and recommendations made for identifying more accurat ely the source of delays in those cases in which the TAT was considered to be unusually prolonged.