[Histonet] Pathologists' Names on H&E Labels

[Michael Mihalik]

Roger I've run into this exact issue as an LIS vendor.

The concern was that the name on the slide would somehow be construed as the
actual pathologist who performed the diagnosis, despite the fact that the
LIS maintained the identity of the pathologist who actually signed off the
case in it's database.  It just 'disturbed' some pathologists.

Long story short, unique initials were utilized instead and the politics of
the situation evaporated.

As a suggestion, should this continue to be an issue at your facility, why
not use a numbering  system or some other designator to identify a
pathologist group/workgroup if you will (yes, it would be a group of 1)

Feel free to email or call me separately if you'd like a few more details.

Michael Mihalik
PathView Systems | cell: 214.733.7688 | 800.798.3540 | fax: 952.241.7369


-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
[mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Roger Heyna
Sent: Friday, January 04, 2013 2:01 PM
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: [Histonet] Pathologists' Names on H&E Labels

For years, our lab's information system has been set up so that the name of
the pathologist assigned to a case prints on our H&E labels to assist with
sorting and grouping the slides after staining. As new pathologists join our
team, concerns regarding this practice have come up. The pathologists are
concerned that having their names on the slides pose medical-legal
liability, and they want the names removed. I've yet to hear clear
ramifications involved with having doctors' names on slides. What liability
is really involved?
 
We are a large, urban academic medical center with high specimen volumes.
Our pathologists rotate through different sub-specialties, sometimes on a
daily basis. For us, having the pathologists' names on the H&E labels seems
to be the easiest way to get the H&E's to the correct pathologist.
 
Are other labs printing the names of the pathologists on their H&E labels?
Is anyone aware of any legal risk involved in this practice? Would anyone
mind sharing how they sort and divide the slides before submitting them to
their pathologists?
 
Thank you,
 
Roger Heyna, BS, HTL(ASCP)
Loyola University Medical Center
Maywood, IL