Q: Do the standards require all tissue removed during surgery to be submitted to Pathology?
A: There are standards regarding submission of tissue from surgery to pathology in the laboratory manual. QC.2.10, Element of Performance (EP) #3, requires that all specimens, except those identified by the clinical staff as part of EP #2, are routinely sent to a pathologist for evaluation. EP 2F states that the clinical staff, in consultation with a pathologist, decides the exceptions to submitting specimens removed during a surgical procedure to the laboratory.
The medical staff and pathologist(s) should approve the tissue exemption list for the institution in writing. Exceptions are made only when the quality of care has not been compromised by the exception, when another suitable means of verifying the removal has been routinely used, and when there is an authenticated operative or other official report that documents the removal.