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Utilizing the Autopsy for Quality Improvement

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Autopsy in the 21st Century

Abstract

The use of autopsy findings as a check on the accuracy of clinical diagnoses dates back hundreds of years. The advent of quality management (QM) as its own separate discipline is a much more recent development. This chapter considers autopsy from a QM context and discusses the autopsy’s utility as a QM tool. The chapter is divided into three sections. The first section reviews the history and terminology of QM and offers several vignettes to emphasize key points. The second section examines how QM principles can be applied to hospital autopsy practice, both to maintain and improve autopsy performance and to contribute to general hospital quality improvement programs. Practical tips for approaching accreditation inspections of an autopsy service are suggested. The third section looks at the recent ambitious national initiative proposed by the Institute of Medicine aimed at improving the quality of clinical diagnoses. The autopsy will play a crucial role in the success of such an initiative, but in order to fulfill that role, some fundamental changes in autopsy practice are necessary.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University, North Haven, CT, USA

    Harold Sanchez & Gregory Chamberlin

Authors
  1. Harold Sanchez
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  2. Gregory Chamberlin
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Correspondence to Harold Sanchez .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Jody E. Hooper

  2. Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra / Northwell, Hempstead, NY, USA

    Alex K. Williamson

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Sanchez, H., Chamberlin, G. (2019). Utilizing the Autopsy for Quality Improvement. In: Hooper, J., Williamson, A. (eds) Autopsy in the 21st Century. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98373-8_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98373-8_2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-98372-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-98373-8

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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