Case Studies

The number of practising anatomic pathologists is falling globally, and pathology departments need to find new ways to do more with less. Digital Pathology can provide a flexible platform to improve workflow efficiency while also ensuring patient safety and quality medical care.

Digital Pathology can offer agility to Anatomic Pathology departments who are invested in improving efficiencies and high levels of quality while quickly responding to the increasing pressure of on-demand pathology services.

In partnership with the National Consortium of Breast Centers (NCBC), Leica Biosystems’ Process & Solution Optimization team worked with several hospitals with the goal to improve the quality and efficiencies of their breast programs. Through this work, the team identified common barriers and improvement opportunities.

Leica Biosystems working in partnership with Southern Ohio Medical Center (SOMC), conducted process assessments to analyze the timeliness treatment for breast cancer patients. We identified a lack of standardized processes for conduction of imaging services and elongated time to diagnosis. The Breast Imaging and Reporting Data System (BI-RADs) is the standardized method to record findings on imaging studies.

Southern Ohio Medical Center (SOMC) is a community hospital in Portsmouth, Ohio. Review of data pertaining to breast care delivery demonstrated opportunities for improvement. Analysis of the cadence of care processes across departments demonstrated delays in care and outmigration potential. One quality study demonstrated 10% of patients did NOT select SOMC for surgical intervention post biopsy.

The Leica Biosystems Process and Solutions Optimization Team partnered with a large U.S.-based academic medical center to examine how to best utilize equipment in its pathology lab to gain efficiencies while saving money. This hospital is most interested in the impact that equipment can have on reducing turn-around time and saving money in the routine histology lab. By benchmarking current practices and performing a capacity analysis, the Process and Solutions Optimization Team can quantify key performance indicators (KPIs) contributing to the lab’s operational efficiency and present a solution that satisfies its goals.

The Leica Biosystems Content and Evidence Team has partnered with a private, multispecialty clinic to assess the impact of implementing automated specimen tracking into their laboratory. This laboratory is most interested in increasing efficiency and patient safety throughout their processes.

The Leica Biosystems Process and Solutions Optimization team has partnered with Wisconsin Diagnostics to evaluate and optimize efficiency through automation. For this study, the HistoCore SPECTRA ST H&E staining system was utilized with two different platforms. The HistoCore SPECTRA ST Stainer, with detached Leica CV5030 Coverslipper, was compared with the HistoCore SPECTRA CV coverslipper, offering attached and automated coverslipping.

Leica Biosystems’ new anti-static microtome paraffin tray was designed to resist the adhesion of paraffin sections to the tray and allow for ease of cleaning. The following research was conducted to measure the different time measurements between the following methods: cleaning a standard paraffin tray; cleaning a standard paraffin tray with wet paper towels; and cleaning the anti-static tray.