Checklists, protocols, and the 'gold standard' approach

摘要

Checklists (now referred to as case summaries) have been used for educational and quality improvement purposes in surgical pathology reporting of cancer cases for a number of years, with published protocols, checklists, and structured reports developed by many societies such as the Association of Directors of Anatomic and Surgical Pathology, the College of American Pathologists (CAP), and The Royal College of Pathologists of the United Kingdom. The adoption of checklists designed to improve the quality of patient care is also gaining momentum in various clinical settings, including perioperative suites, emergency departments, and intensive care units. In pathology, the use of checklists or structured reporting for histopathologic findings in cancer resection cases has been shown to produce sustained improvement in reporting of critical data elements.