Improving Hospital and Laboratory Safety

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Since the release of the Institute of Medicine report "To Err is Human," the number of patient safety-focused health professional seminars and conferences has rapidly increased. However, due in part to: 1) the relatively small numbers of United States pathologists (compared to those of other physician specialists), 2) the persistent "black box" nature of pathology laboratories and pathology practice, and 3) the paucity of pathologists performing health services research related to patient safety or the clinical effectiveness of laboratory diagnostics information, the majority of the content of these conferences has, and continues to be, non-laboratory related. In response to: 1) the void in information and awareness about findings from currently funded pathology laboratory patient safety research and 2) the current lack of a national conference forum for dissemination and discussion of information and ideas related to the pathology laboratory and patient safety, we organized and hosted the first national pathology quality and patient safety conference in October 2004. Based on the success of the first pilot conference, our long-term goal is to organize and host this conference on an annual basis. In order to achieve this goal, we aim to plan and direct a second conference that will be held in August 2005. The major objective of this conference is to disseminate research findings and results of clinical quality improvement initiatives to pathologists, other laboratory personnel, laboratory administrators, and other health care professionals who can use this information to improve both the quality of laboratory services and patient safety. In particular, it will be used to disseminate research funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and other federal organizations. The secondary objective is to promote patient safety and clinical effectiveness research development in the area of pathology laboratory services and diagnostic testing. To this end, we have planned a 2-day conference where findings from currently funded laboratory quality improvement and patient safety projects, results from clinical quality improvement initiatives, and other healthcare quality and patient safety information relevant and/or potentially applicable to pathology practice and laboratory services will be communicated. Attendees of the conference will receive a hard copy syllabus containing all the information presented at the meeting; however, we also plan to post this information on a Web site and submit a written summary for publication.