CAP Today Recommends

Improve triaging in the ED: A new assay delivers a higher standard of cardiac care. “Is it a heart attack, or something less serious?” Every day, thousands of symptomatic patients ask emergency department (ED) physicians that very question. Over the years, as diagnostic tools for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), commonly known as a heart attack, have advanced, physicians can provide increasingly accurate answers to that question. Unfortunately, diagnostic gaps still exist that can result in poor patient outcomes.

April 13, 2017—The Digital Pathology community is in full support of the FDA’s landmark announcement that Philips Whole Slide Imaging (WSI) system, IntelliSite, can be marketed for primary diagnosis. This technology facilitates review of digital surgical pathology slides with remote sign out capabilities, and poses a significant benefit to both pathologists and patients alike.

Oct. 5, 2016—Clinical laboratories and pathology groups ought to master the emerging areas of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics that open the door to a more personalized approach to drug prescribing, says a free (registration required) white paper published by Dark Daily. Read. By identifying drugs most likely to benefit a patient, assessing the likely dose response, potentially avoiding adverse reactions, and reducing unnecessary use of drugs, pharmacogenomics testing can help optimize treatment and reduce costs associated with complications or inappropriate utilization.

Aug. 29, 2016—An Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine study analyzes evidence from nine postmortem examinations and related studies of fetuses and infants with intrauterine Zika virus infection and microcephaly. Author David A. Schwartz, MD, concludes “the Zika virus has a strong predilection for cells of the fetal central nervous system following vertical transmission.” Read the early online release.

Aug. 19, 2016—Pathologists have an opportunity to thrive and be health care team leaders in the coming world of accountable and value-based care, Donald Karcher, MD, argues in a webinar that offers a sneak peek of a course that he will moderate at CAP16 in Las Vegas. View the free, 30-minute webinar (registration required).

May 18, 2016—A free webinar sponsored by Sigma-Aldrich will review the utility of immunohistochemical testing with markers such as S-100, SOX-10, Ber-Ep4, and HHV-8 in accurately diagnosing skin cancer and improving survival rates for patients with the disease. Register. Continuing education credits for pathologists and histotechnologists attending this webinar will be offered through the National Society of Histotechnology. The speaker, Jeff Gordon, has more than 15 years of IHC diagnostic experience and conducted more than two dozen NSH-approved workshops.

March 17, 2016—As molecular technology and personalized medicine increasingly becomes the default position for clinical diagnostics laboratories, these modalities place significant demands on laboratory information systems. That is where molecular information management systems come into the picture. A white paper from The Dark Report and Dark Daily examines how pathologists are using MIMS to handle the complex workflows of various molecular platforms and modalities.