Frank,
There is an interesting article entiled Evaluating the Abnormal Pap in Volume 8, Number 1, Winter 1997 edition of Penn Today. Penn Today is an offical publication of the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center.
They talk about what to look for in choosing a quality laboratory. They state that the best laboratories require all pertinent background information about the patient, and communicate directly with the physican about the quality of the Pap smear.
Sounds just like AccuMed's emphasis on data management to me!
They also state that every abnormal Pap smear should be reviewed
by two or three pairs of eyes. Doesn't sound like they are ready to put the cytopathologists and cytotechnologists out to pasture yet.
But what caught my attention most was the statement contributed to Prabodh K. Gupta, MD, director of Penn's cytopathology and cytometry laboratory, and current president of the American Society of Cytopathology (ASC):
®The FDA recently approved two computer-based automated devices that recheck Pap smear slides that were initially classified as normal. Although these devices may ultimately have a role in improving accuracy, in a statement signed by Gupta, the ACS urged its members to "proceed with caution in the adoption of these technologies."¯
®The FDA also approved a new approach to specimen collection and processing (Thin-prep) in which the sample is mixed in a solution and sent to the lab for further analysis. According to Gupta, the same caution needs to be exercised in using this approach.¯
I don't know about you Frank, but that doesn't sound too keen on primary sceeners or Thin-prep to me.
med.upenn.edu
Switching gears to another quote I read earlier this year, Pat Connelly, MD, stated: Papnet has a useful device but I believe they are unethically marketing it. Marketing directly to patients when you can't convince cytopathologists is a telling statement. For healthcare workers to aid in this endeavor is a sad testimonial to the state of morality of our profession.
The reason I bring this subject up today is because NeoPath has started doing the same thing:
biz.yahoo.com
Cisco |
