This is very interesting...seems we are coming full circle.  When I began
in cytology and histology in the late '60's, the training and the work
environment had us placing BOTH the patient name and accession number on
the slides.  In those years, we were doing the frosted end slides with name
and number and then diamond pen etching number on opposite end of slide
itself.  It was done for all the reasons that you have listed, Peggy;
correlation for accuracy, pathologist dictation, send outs for
consultation, etc. I did not see this change in my institution until the
early '80's. Sharon Osborn


> [Original Message]
> From: Lee & Peggy Wenk <lpwenk@mail.netquest.com>
> To: Histonet <histonet@pathology.swmed.edu>
> Date: 2/23/01 2:47:39 AM
> Subject: PATIENT NAMES ON SLIDES
>
> Hearing of a trend of printing the patient's names along with their
surgical
> number on the slide label , and want to know Hectometer's opinion.
> 
> I've been in the field 20+ years. In all that time, I've been told we deal
> with ONLYsurgical numbers, not names, once the tissue has been assigned a
> number, because:
> 1. Less likely to confuse numbers than names, especially if two specimens
> come down with the same or similar numbers.
> 2. Confidentiality.
> 
> Now, I'm hearing (and seeing) patients' names being printed on the slide
> label, along with the surgical number, institution name, and stain name.
> 
> I've been told this is part of QC in many places, to make certain that the
> name and the surgical number correlate when the pathologists are dictating
> their findings, or when slides are being sent out for consultation or at
the
> request of the patient.
> 
> Anyone out there printing the names on the slides?
> 
> Has there been any comments about confidentiality?
> 
> Thanks in advance for your input.
> 
> Peggy A. Wenk, HTL(ASCP)
> 
> 
> 
> 



--- Sharon Osborn
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