Regarding the new regulation about date of service for pathology specimens,
what do you count as the date of collection for a new specimen being
accessioned?

I am asking this because outpatients are registered for the date their
specimen is collected, which very often is a date prior to receipt of the
specimen. This dates crosses to the laboratory computer system. If we
accession the specimen with the collect date and make the DOS as the
accession date for us, the hospital computer system sees that as an error
and kicks out the charge. 

The new regulation about the DOS for pathology is confusing, but I interpret
it to have been established for cases that are months or years old, in which
additional testing (e.g. Her2Neu) is being performed. 

If this makes sense to anyone, can you please tell me how you interpret the
regulation? :>)

Thanks, j


Joyce Weems
Pathology Manager
Saint Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta
404-851-7376
404-851-7831 - fax