Introduction
Digital microscopy (pathology) is gaining interest worldwide. For instance, in Scandinavia (1) (2), and in Canada - through the Canadian Association of Pathologists - there are now established guidelines for telepathology service for anatomic pathology (3). Some Dutch pathology laboratories in the Netherlands are leaders in the transition to work digitally. Laboratory for Pathology East Netherlands (LabPON) is one of the first in the world to make the step to implement a fully digitized histopathological clinical diagnostics workflow.
In this paper, we provide insight into the transition to a fully digitized histopathological clinical workflow in a pathology laboratory. We believe our experience can help other laboratories complete this process smoothly and as costeffectively as possible. We describe our transition in the following terms: business vision, logistics, technical aspects, and ergonomics. The implementation in our laboratory was handled gradually and effectively.
LabPON is one of the largest pathology laboratories in The Netherlands and in Europe. It is an independent laboratory with 115 employees of whom 18 are pathologists, handling more than 55,000 histological requests per year, with a turnaround time of 3 to 5 working days. The mission statement of LabPON is to provide fast, efficient pathology service of the highest quality to physicians and hospitals. We realize this is thanks to our clear corporate vision that allows creativity to bloom without interfering with company operations.
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