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Updated July 23, 2007
How are the slides evaluated?
Why are slides not returned?
What do I do if our lab doesn’t do a stain?
How are the challenges (tissues and stains) chosen?
Why do you limit the types of stains or tissues to
be submitted?
What do I do if our lab doesn’t have the requested
tissue?
How are the slides evaluated?
A panel of experienced histotechnologists and pathologists
evaluates all slides. To reduce variation among the reviewers, a formal
orientation is given at the start of every evaluation session and uniform
criteria for each part of the challenge (fixation, processing, sectioning
and staining) are defined and illustrated. This orientation reduces variation
and ensures consistency in identifying artifacts. A statistical measure
of each evaluator’s performance is also determined by reviewing
common sets of slides at each session. These quality assurance steps have
helped us make the process as uniform and fair as possible.
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Why are slides not returned?
The CAP retains the submitted slides to keep the cost of the program
low. For those participants who wish to review their slides after receiving
their results, we recommend creating a duplicate set of stained slides
and keeping one set for that purpose.
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What do I do if our lab doesn’t do a stain?
Submit only those stains offered by your laboratory. For any requested
stain that is not done by your laboratory, do not submit a slide and leave
those portions of the result form blank. Do not purchase reagents or control
slides solely for the purpose of completing a HistoQIP exercise.
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How are the challenges (tissues and stains) chosen?
A committee of pathologists and histotechnologists from CAP and NSH together
determine what stains and tissues will be assessed in each challenge.
Specific tissues and stains are selected to identify common problems,
e.g., fixation and processing of fatty breast tissue; optimal cytologic
detail in decalcified bone marrow biopsies, proper embedding and sectioning
of skin biopsies; optimum preparation of amyloid stains, etc. The committee
strives to include cases that will allow laboratories to identify areas
that can be improved.
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Why do you limit the types of stains or tissues to be submitted?
The program is designed to allow laboratories to compare their performance
with that of their peers. Allowing broad discretion of the nature of the
stain (e.g., brightfield vs. fluorescent techniques) or the types of tissue
chosen would limit our ability to compare laboratories. Consistency in
testing materials also reduces variation and bias in evaluating slides.
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What do I do if our lab doesn’t have the requested tissue?
Because of the wide spectrum of laboratories that participate in HistoQIP,
it is not possible to always select tissue types that are seen in every
laboratory. For many of the special stains, the tissue is not specified
and only a control is requested. For cases in which a tissue is specified
but is not seen in your laboratory, do not submit a slide and leave those
portions of the result form blank.
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