Effective Communication of Urgent Diagnoses and Significant Unexpected Diagnoses

• Guideline status: Inactive—January 2026
• Inactive guidelines are no longer updated with systematic literature reviews, but the recommendations may still be useful for educational, informational or historic purposes.
• Published online ahead of print: October 13, 2011
• Originally published: February 2012
• Reaffirmed: May 2017
• Collaborator: Association of Directors of Anatomic and Subspecialty Pathology

Six expert consensus statements have been developed to assist anatomic pathologists in the creation of a separate policy regarding urgent diagnoses and significant, unexpected diagnoses in anatomic pathology that is separate from critical results or panic-value policies in clinical pathology. Consideration of the specific urgent or unexpected diagnoses to include in such a policy and the plan to communicate these diagnoses to patient care providers are addressed.

We collaborated to develop the "Consensus Statement on Effective Communication of Urgent Diagnoses and Significant, Unexpected Diagnoses in Surgical Pathology and Cytopathology" published in Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine in 2012. After a comprehensive review process, this consensus statement was reaffirmed by both organizations in June 2017.

Download the following tools and resources to help implement the guideline:

• Summary of Recommendations
• Methodology Supplement (Supplemental Digital Content)
• Reaffirmation Summary – May 2017