An implementation plan for autopsy quality control and quality assurance.

The few guidelines that exist for performing autopsy quality assurance are vague. Much has been written about the use of the autopsy to monitor clinical services, but not how to monitor the quality of the autopsy and autopsy reports. We present the comprehensive quality assurance program that has been developed and implemented at Hahnemann University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pa, for the past 2 years; this program has encompassed quality control of our diagnostic work. Key features have included in-depth peer review of completed reports, documentation of review at conferences, and careful monitoring of turnaround time. We have found that integrating quality assurance into departmental conferences is a useful supplement to in-depth peer review of randomly chosen autopsies. Our approach to quality assurance may serve as a model for other pathology departments, particularly those with pathology residency training programs.