Errors by surgical pathologists in India: results of a questionnaire survey.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Data from the United Kingdom show that most surgical pathologists are aware of about one serious mistake in their reports every year. There are no corresponding data from India or the developing world. I made an attempt to determine the rate of error made by Indian pathologists. METHODS: A postal questionnaire was sent to 96 pathologists and 71 clinicians in different cities. The questions included some related to their experience with error in histopathology, as well as a few on the respondents' views on the legal and ethical aspects in the case of medical error. RESULTS: Fifty pathologists and 47 clinicians responded. Of the evaluable responses, 32 pathologists were aware of 86 errors in the past 5 years, while 30 clinicians recalled 162 errors. Most mistakes that pathologists remembered were cases related to lymphoid disease (n = 15) while for clinicians, gastrointestinal tract (n = 12) and lymphoid tissue (n = 9) were common sites of error. Benign-malignant errors were the most common type of error. CONCLUSION: The discrepancy between the rates of error between the two groups suggests that better pathologist-clinician communication is required. Medical councils and related governing bodies should consider introducing a quality control programme for anatomic pathology.