Course Outline
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- Technology Adoption and the Workflow
- Test Cycle
- Phases of Testing
- Drivers of Technology Adoption
- Regulatory Focus
- General Impact of Technology on Histology Workflow
- Match the phase of the laboratory testing cycle with the order of occurrence used during a normal progression of a single specimen through the laborat...
- The adoption of automation in the histology laboratory results in changes to the traditional manual histology process. Which of the following changes,...
- Traditional Histology Workflow
- Traditional Histology "Batch" Processing
- Automation Design and Error Reduction
- Common Sources of Error in the Histology Laboratory
- Identification Errors: Scope of the Problem
- Pre-examination and Examination Phase Error Reduction
- Case Studies and Error-Rate Statistics
- Case Study: Automation Challenges with Complex Workflows
- For each histology task, identify which category it belongs to:Automated: If the task has been or could be automatedManual: If the task has not yet be...
- True or False: Two of the most consistent problems that occur within traditional histology batch processing are the tendency for significant variation...
- Types of Laboratory Automation
- Deciding to Automate
- Considerations and Potential Issues
- Considerations and Potential Issues, continued
- Laboratory Information System Integrated Technology
- Batch versus Continuous Flow Specimen Processing
- Open and Closed Automation Systems
- Recommended Steps for Choosing an Automation System
- History and Types of Barcode Technology
- Barcode Reading and Accuracy
- Barcode Technology Applications
- Barriers to Adoption of Barcode and Technology in the Histology Laboratory
- Determining the Return on Investment
- Conclusion
- True or False: A laboratory information system (LIS) consists of the computer hardware and software that provide the means to manage data used in labo...
- True or False: One of the main reasons that barcoding has not been enthusiastically adopted by histology laboratories is that barcodes have been shown...
- References
Additional Information
Level of Instruction: Intermediate
Intended Audience: Histotechnologists,
histotechnicians, pathologists' assistants, laboratory supervisors, and
laboratory managers. This course is also appropriate for HTL and HT students,
cytologists, and pathology residents.
Author Information: Joelle Weaver, MAOM, HTL(ASCP), QIHC, is a certified histotechnologist (HTL) with experience in clinical, research, and reference histopathology. She has received qualification from the ASCP in immunohistochemistry and is a local ASCP representative for the Nashville, Tennessee area. Her bachelor's degree was received from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, and her master's degree was awarded from Bluffton University in Bluffton, Ohio. Positions held include education coordinator, lead instructor, and program director of a NAACLS-accredited HT certification training program.
The author has no
conflict of interest to disclose.
Reviewer Information:
Elaine Frakes, MBA, HT(ASCP)CM, is the Anatomic Pathology Manager for Adventist Health in Portland, Oregon. She holds a Master of Business Administration degree, with a concentration in Healthcare Management, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Healthcare Management, with a concentration in Health Informatics from Colorado Technical University, Colorado Springs, Colorado. She is certified as a Histotechnician and has 17 years of experience in the field of Histology.
Laurie Bjerklie, MA, MLS(ASCP)CM, is
a Lead Education Developer. She earned a B.S. in Medical Laboratory Science
from the University of North Dakota and an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction
from Saint Xavier University. She has over 15 years of experience in higher
education and has held program director and faculty positions in both MLT and
MLS programs.
Course Description: Histological testing has historically been carried out using long-established manual work processes that have remained relatively unchanged over the last one hundred years. As medicine progresses into the era of personalized medicine, histology is responding by moving toward more complex testing, such as prognostic immunohistochemistry (IHC) and molecular pathology. In addition, factors such as the demand for reduced turnaround times and staffing shortages have also driven the increased adoption of automation and technology in the histology laboratory.
