A proposal for a department of pathology improvement program.

A quality assurance program for Departments of Pathology was first proposed by William Beautyman, MD, while he was a member of the Board of Governors of the College of American Pathologists. Subsequently, this proposal has been reviewed in detail by the CAP Clinical Pathology Committee under the chairmanship of William Cole, MD, and more recently Mario Werner, MD. At this time, the Clinical Pathology Committee believes a thorough discussion of the merits, format, and content of the program is desirable to bring the concept to maturation. Only after being subjected to widespread scrutiny will it be ready for more formal consideration and possible implementation by the College. It is published at this time with such intent.