Why Public Disclosure of Anatomic Pathology Errors in Canada, But No Similar Events Reported in the United States?
As healthcare systems make patient safety a greater priority, the public reporting of pathology errors in Canada has no comparable track record in the United States
Errors in anatomic pathology testing in the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan made media headlines this summer. In each case, it was just a limited number of cases where errors at pathology labs resulted in inaccurate diagnoses and, in at least one case, a needless mastectomy for a patient.
At a time when health systems in Canada, the United States, and other developed nations are giving great emphasis to patient safety, disclosure of life-changing diagnostic errors to patients is appropriate. Consumers are holding physicians—including surgical pathologists—to a higher standard of care. (more…)
