The Importance of Synoptic Pathology Reports

The information included in the pathology reports is the source of information for clinicians to make critical treatment decisions. It is imperative, therefore, that the information presented is clear, concise, and accurate. Pathologists are notorious for being detailed oriented, a feature well appreciated by our colleagues over the years. However, all those details must be clearly summarized and logically presented. It is in the diagnostic or synoptic template where all the information included in the body of the report is condensed. These templates also serve as a guide to the pathologist by having a checklist of the important items that must be included in every report. The importance of the pathology information in treatment decisions has been accepted for decades, whereas the adoption of synoptic templates has taken many years. Memorial Care pathologists started using a breast cancer synoptic template for diagnosis in 1993 at the request of the breast cancer treatment team to improve accuracy and completeness of the reports. Although we received a very positive response from clinicians, our pathologist colleagues felt that it was excessive. Today, however, it is the standard of care in our organization and is currently used for multiple organ types.