Welcome to the first issue of The Pathologist.
What is this new publication all about? Well, our aim is to provide you with insight into the latest research and technological breakthroughs that affect – or will affect – your work in the field of pathology.
Fedra Pavlou |
For example, our first issue focuses on a topic that has divided the community – digital pathology. While it’s not a new phenomenon, opinions vary vastly. The general consensus: if you’re not using it, you probably will be in the next few years. And though cynicism remains, the digital pathology seminar held at this year’s European Congress of Pathology (ECP) was packed to the rafters and was followed by an extremely energetic discussion. Evidently, people are interested, but there are also concerns; cost, standardization, training, and privacy issues, for example, all need to be addressed.
A senior manager of a company that’s actively involved in digital solutions admitted to me recently that pathologists will only adopt the technology if industry can demonstrate that there is a clear need. Despite opinions being divided, Berlin’s Manfred Dietl made an interesting point in his presentation at ECP: you cannot afford to ignore it. After all, bad press surrounding false diagnoses and inaccurate reports, in particular for patients with cancer, have publicly emphasized areas that need to be addressed. Although Dietl accepted there are downsides to integrating digital technology, the upsides – increased need for quantification, reduced variability and increased objectivity – are far greater. I hope such hot topics will fully engage each and every one of you. If you want to contribute to the ongoing debate on digital pathology, please drop me an email.
In addition to offering in depth or high level coverage of topics that are destined to have a wide and great impact, we want to focus our editorial lens on other important areas that directly affect your daily work; we’ll look at changes in regulations, quality and standards, training and education, and funding, to name but a few. Importantly, we will also become the forum where you can learn from and communicate with your peers.
Our vow is to use every avenue – the monthly print magazine, website, e-news, and social media (Twitter: @pathologistmag; Facebook: thepathologistmag) – to report on the people and subjects that are important to you. And, of course, if there’s something you’d like to share, please email me at [email protected]
Finally, I’d like to take this opportunity to offer my sincere thanks to our contributors and to the thought leaders who provided invaluable support and guidance in the run up to our launch. This is just the beginning of an exciting journey together.
Fedra Pavlou
Editor
