Backlog of pathology tests cleared, wait times cut

REGINA The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) says it has cleared a backlog and reduced the number of pathology tests in process by more than 50 per cent — “significantly” reducing the wait time for pathology results.

The changes come after doctors raised red flags about wait times at Regina and Saskatoon labs back in May. At that time, wait times up to six weeks or more were reported by Swift Current urologist Dr. Francisco Garcia.

“I think we’ve been making amazing progress in the work,” executive director of laboratory services Lenore Howey said this week.

“It’s always good to take time to know and understand your process so that we can put the right resources in the right places.”

And that’s exactly what the SHA did to expedite a process that was significantly stalled at the first phase — a gross examination, in which pathology assistants or medical laboratory technologists record the size, weight and description of the specimen and look for pathological changes.

In May, more than 2,600 biopsies were waiting to be processed at hospital labs in Regina and Saskatoon.

The backlog of pathology cases was highest in Regina at 1,662 while in Saskatoon there was a 1,005-case backlog.

“To bring those numbers down, we had pathologists assist with the work in the first phase of work,” saidhowey.

“For two to three months, our pathologists helped with the front end in some capacity each day to get the work moving through more consistently.”

They were also able to recruit a pathologist assistant and hire three histology/cytology technologists, one on a permanent basis and two on a temporary basis.

“We do not have a backlog right now,” said Howey. “Our system is very stable, but we do have checks and balances to put in place so that we would never get there again, which we didn’t have prior.”

As of Oct. 2, the number of specimens waiting to proceed past the first stage of processing in Regina was 231 (called the gross workload), down from 1,662 in May. The total number of specimens in progress was 785 as of Oct. 2, which is within range of the SHA’S target of 750.

In Saskatoon, the gross workload as of Oct. 2 was 409 — down from 1,005 in May — and the total workload was 748.

Regina’s backlog in May was largely due to challenges with voice recognition transcription software that was being piloted for the gross examination phase of processing, said Howey in an interview with Postmedia News in May.

While the backlog has been resolved, the technological challenges have not.

“It hasn’t been resolved 100 per cent,” said Howey.

“We still are testing and validating voice-recognition software with that system. We have noted that one application of the software system was not functioning.”

She said they’ve been given an alternate application to use by the software vendor, but are still having to do some workarounds with the voice-recognition system.

Other improvements are in the works, including an electronic tracking system being implemented in Saskatoon that will allow lab specimens to be located and their progress tracked more efficiently. Howey hopes to have the system implemented in Regina as well.

The number of specimens waiting to be processed and the number of specimens in process are monitored daily so that if the total workload begins to creep up again, they are aware and prevent another major backlog.

Our system is very stable, but we do have checks and balances to put in place so that we would never get there again, which we didn’t have prior.