[Histonet] Re: Frozen section turnaround time

[Smith Wanda]

Bob,
AMEN to getting the Pathologist to sign the worksheet!!!!  I have
threatened to break their legs is they walk off without signing.

Regarding the 20 minute TAT, Mr. Gruber at CAP told me that the 20
minutes is from the time the Pathologist starts the frozen section to
the time they call the surgeon.  That makes sense if the Pathologist are
responsible for frozen sections at a remote site that they have to
travel to.

In the narrative after the question in the checklist, it states:
"NOTE:  If 90% of frozen sections are not completed within 20 minutes,
the laboratory must document evaluation of the reason(s) for the delay.
This TAT is intended to apply to the typical single frozen section.  In
cases where there are multiple sequential frozen sections required on a
single specimen (e.g., resection margins), or in cases where additional
studies such as radiographic correlation are required, longer TAT may be
expected"
Hope this helps!!!
Wanda
Wanda G. Smith, HTL(ASCP)HT
Trident Medical Center
Pathology Supervisor
ph:  843-847-4586
fx:  843-847-4296
email:  wanda.smith <@t> hcahealthcare.com
-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
[mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of
RSRICHMOND <@t> aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 3:32 PM
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: [Histonet] Re: Frozen section turnaround time

Allison Scott (where's LBJ Hospital - is that the LBJ I think it is?)
asks 
about turnaround time for frozen sections. That's the time from when you
receive 
the specimen in the laboratory until the time when the pathologist
phones the 
report to the surgeons.

If I understand it aright, CAP's requirement is 20 minutes for a single 
frozen section, but there are no CAP guidelines for multiple frozen
sections. The 
problem is getting the pathologist to record the time on the frozen
section 
work sheet - it's a real nuisance, and a lot of fudging of records can
be 
expected, but the Herrn Inschpektors have no way of knowing that.

Bob Richmond
Samurai Pathologist
Knoxville TN


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