Scott A. Lindrud, MLSCM(ASCP)CTCM, Histopathology Technical Specialist at Carris Health in central Minnesota (apparently not part of the Mayo Clinic system) asks:
>>I was wondering if anyone would be willing to share their experience with weekend Histology coverage for smaller Pathology labs? When I say small, I'm saying about 30,000-33,000 blocks per year (avg 130-140/day) with automated IHC and special staining. Our lab is in a rural area where all but one of the histotechs live between 25-50 miles away. Winter weather has played a role in numerous instances of trying to get a histotech to the lab on a bad weather Saturday. -- Our lab currently has a histotech come in on Saturday morning to set up a gross for about 16-20 cases which will be put on processing run to come off on Monday morning. The majority of the cases are from colonoscopies, colposcopies, skin excisions, gallbladder/appendix, and placentas. -- I'm asking this to see if there is a necessity for the Saturday coverage for a lab our size. If the industry standard is that most labs of smaller size have some sort of Saturday histology coverage, then we're good to go. But if most smaller labs aren't providing some sort of weekend coverage, then I feel more confident talking to management for our histotechs about the necessity of providing the Saturday coverage. I just don't know what other smaller labs are doing.<< Now retired at age 80, I did locum tenens coverage of a large number of rural pathology practices in the southeastern US and adjacent states. I'm not sure I saw any of these labs providing Saturday coverage after the 1980s, though many of them did before that. "The majority of the cases are from colonoscopies, colposcopies, skin excisions, gallbladder/appendix, and placentas." I don't see why it's necessary to cut any of these on Saturday. Bob Richmond Samurai Pathologist Maryville TN _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet