This story was written by Kelly Malcom and originally published in Michigan Medicine's Health Lab on July 30, 2024.
With the passage of the 21st Century Cures Act in 2021, patients were granted access to their medical test results without delay—often before their physician can review them.
Pathology reports aren’t written with patients as a target audience and they contain complex medical terminology which can often lead to patient confusion and anxiety.
To address this, researchers led by Cathryn Lapedis, M.D., M.P.H., of the Department of Pathology at Michigan Medicine, recently examined how a pathology explanation clinic, or PEC, could improve the experience of a small group of patients newly diagnosed with prostate cancer.
In this model, patients interfaced directly with a pathologist familiar with the patient’s case, who reviewed their slides and provided an indepth explanation of the tissue findings that led to the diagnosis.
The pathologist then summarized this meeting for the patients’ urologic oncologist, including any questions about treatment or prognosis raised by the patient (PEC follow up note.)
Qualitative interviews over a six month follow up period with 10 study participants revealed that following the PEC visit, patients had an indepth understanding of their diagnosis, including visual changes in their cancer cells which determined the Gleason score (i.e the grade of their cancer.)
They were also more prepared emotionally and cognitively for a discussion with their oncologist, which supported patients in making informed treatment decisions that align with their values.
On the clinician side, oncologists were appreciative of the PEC follow up and noted that the PEC patients were more prepared and able to ask more indepth and nuanced questions about prognosis and treatment decision when meeting with the urologic oncologist.
These PECs also led to overall quality improvement by ensuring that all outside biopsy slides were re-reviewed and that any changes in the patient’s diagnosis were clearly communicated across the care team.
In some patient cases, this additional communication supported patients in choosing clinically appropriate but lower risk treatment options such as active surveillance.
Additional authors include Sarah E. Bergholtz, BS, M.P..H, Sophia R. Kurnot, B.S., Esha Elahi, Melissa DeJonckheere, Ph..D, Sarah T. Hawley, Ph.D., M.P.H., Scott R. Owens, M.D., Simpa Salami, M.D., M.P.H., and Todd M. Morgan, M.D.
Paper cited: “A longitudinal mixed-methods study of pathology explanation clinics in patients with newly diagnosed localized prostate cancer,” American Journal of Clinical Pathology. DOI: 10.1093/ajcp/aqae008
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Breast team reviewing a patient's slide. (From left to right) Ghassan Allo, Fellow; Laura Walters, Clinical Lecturer; Celina Kleer, Professor. See Article 2014Department Chair |
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INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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Autopsy Technician draws blood while working in the Wayne County morgue. See Article 2016Department Chair |
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INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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Dr. Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD and Postdoctoral Fellow, Chan Chung, PhD investigate pediatric brain cancer. See Article 2017Department Chair |
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INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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Director of the Neuropathology Fellowship, Dr. Sandra Camelo-Piragua serves on the Patient and Family Advisory Council. 2018Department Chair |
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INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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Residents Ashley Bradt (left) and William Perry work at a multi-headed scope in our new facility. 2019Department Chair |
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INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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Dr. Kristine Konopka (right) instructing residents while using a multi-headed microscope. 2020Department Chair |
newsletter
INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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Patient specimens poised for COVID-19 PCR testing. 2021Department Chair |
newsletter
INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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Dr. Pantanowitz demonstrates using machine learning in analyzing slides. 2022Department Chair |
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INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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(Left to Right) Drs. Angela Wu, Laura Lamps, and Maria Westerhoff. 2023Department Chair |
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INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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Illustration representing the various machines and processing used within our labs. 2024Department Chair |
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INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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MLabs, established in 1985, functions as a portal to provide pathologists, hospitals. and other reference laboratories access to the faculty, staff and laboratories of the University of Michigan Health System’s Department of Pathology. MLabs is a recognized leader for advanced molecular diagnostic testing, helpful consultants and exceptional customer service.