Histopathology Specimen Tracking Programme

Overview

Every year, the Histopathology Department at Cambridge University hospitals receives over 80,000 specimens. Every one of these samples is taken from a patient and is an essential part of making a diagnosis, planning treatment and assessing outcomes. Getting the specimens to the laboratory quickly helps improve the timeliness of important results – a quick turnaround reduces patient waiting time and helps to minimise anxiety. Unfortunately, on occasion, specimens get delayed or even misplaced.

The Histopathology Specimen Tracking Programme seeks to improve the efficiency of specimen handling.

We have completed the first phase of the programme, which involved mapping key areas of the Hospital that are part of a specimen’s journey – from the point they are collected (for example, in an operating theatre or clinic) to when they arrive in the laboratory.

We are now in the second phase of the programme, and we are testing a range of beacons that can be used at specimen collection points to track batches of samples on the way to the lab and around the hospital.  The tracking system we have developed could also be used on other equipment.

If you have any queries about this project, please email the clinical lead for this project, Dr Jem Rashbass at jem.rashbass1@nhs.net.