Department of Cellular Pathology, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK
NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK.
J Clin Pathol. 2021 Feb;74(2):129-132. doi: 10.1136/jclinpath-2020-206786. Epub 2020 Jul 2.
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged our diagnostic services at a time when many histopathology departments already faced a diminishing workforce and increasing workload. Digital pathology (DP) has been hailed as a potential solution to at least some of the challenges faced. We present a survey of pathologists within a UK National Health Service cellular pathology department with access to DP, in which we ascertain the role of DP in clinical services during this current pandemic and explore challenges encountered. This survey indicates an increase in uptake of diagnostic DP during this period, with increased remote access. Half of respondents agreed that DP had facilitated maintenance of diagnostic practice. While challenges have been encountered, these are remediable, and none have impacted on the uptake of DP during this period. We conclude that in our institution, DP has demonstrated current and future potential to increase resilience in diagnostic practice and have highlighted some of the challenges that need to be considered.
COVID-19 大流行使我们的诊断服务面临挑战，而此时许多组织病理学部门已经面临劳动力减少和工作量增加的问题。数字病理学 (DP) 被誉为至少可以解决部分面临挑战的潜在解决方案。我们对英国国民保健署细胞病理学部门中可以使用 DP 的病理学家进行了一项调查，了解 DP 在当前大流行期间在临床服务中的作用，并探讨了所遇到的挑战。该调查表明，在此期间，诊断 DP 的使用率有所增加，远程访问也有所增加。一半的受访者同意 DP 有助于维持诊断实践。虽然遇到了一些挑战，但这些挑战是可以解决的，而且在这期间没有任何挑战影响 DP 的采用。我们的结论是，在我们的机构中，DP 已经展示出在诊断实践中增加弹性的当前和未来潜力，并强调了一些需要考虑的挑战。
