Remote reporting from home for primary diagnosis in surgical pathology: A tertiary oncology center experience during the COVID-19 pandemic

• Main Authors: Vidya Rao, Rajiv Kumar, Sathyanarayanan Rajaganesan, Swapnil Rane, Gauri Deshpande, Subhash Yadav, Asawari Patil, Trupti Pai, Santosh Menon, Aekta Shah, Katha Rabade, Mukta Ramadwar, Poonam Panjwani, Neha Mittal, Ayushi Sahay, Bharat Rekhi, Munita Bal, Uma Sakhadeo, Sumeet Gujral, Sangeeta Desai
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2021-01-01
• Series: Journal of Pathology Informatics
• Subjects: digital pathology; remote reporting; whole-slide imaging
• Online Access: http://www.jpathinformatics.org/article.asp?issn=2153-3539;year=2021;volume=12;issue=1;spage=3;epage=3;aulast=Rao

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the widespread adoption of digital pathology (DP) for primary diagnosis in surgical pathology. This paradigm shift is likely to influence how we function routinely in the postpandemic era. We present learnings from early adoption of DP for a live digital sign-out from home in a risk-mitigated environment. Materials and Methods: We aimed to validate DP for remote reporting from home in a real-time environment and evaluate the parameters influencing the efficiency of a digital workflow. Eighteen pathologists prospectively validated DP for remote use on 567 biopsy cases including 616 individual parts from 7 subspecialties over a duration from March 21, 2020, to June 30, 2020. The slides were digitized using Roche Ventana DP200 whole-slide scanner and reported from respective homes in a risk-mitigated environment. Results: Following re-review of glass slides, there was no major discordance and 1.2% (n = 7/567) minor discordance. The deferral rate was 4.5%. All pathologists reported from their respective homes from laptops with an average network speed of 20 megabits per second. Conclusion: We successfully validated and adopted a digital workflow for remote reporting with available resources and were able to provide our patients, an undisrupted access to subspecialty expertise during these unprecedented times.