The Anatomic Pathology Hospitalist Model.

Abstract

Context.—: Challenges to staffing a high-quality frozen section service include consolidation of health systems and pathology practices, off-campus relocation of some pathology offices, growing numbers of stand-alone surgery centers, and subspecialization among pathologists and surgeons. To address these challenges, we developed a novel anatomic pathology hospitalist model with explicit emphasis in frozen section.

Objective.—: To evaluate our anatomic pathology hospitalist program's impact on (1) frozen section staffing, (2) frozen-permanent diagnostic concordance, and (3) turnaround time.

Design.—: Frozen section staffing and performance data were collected for the 28-month period spanning July 1, 2021, to October 31, 2023. Outcomes were compared between hospitalists, nonhospitalists, and fellows.

Results.—: Hospitalists performed more frozen sections per month than nonhospitalists (median, 87 versus 17, respectively; P = .002). After implementation, nonhospitalists' average frozen section staffing obligation fell from 3.7 (30%) of 12.3 total service days per month to 2.8 (22%) of 12.6 total service days per month (P = .005), compared with hospitalists' average of 9.5 frozen section days (69%) of 13.7 total service days per month. Frozen-permanent concordance was marginally but significantly higher for hospitalists (4701 of 4744 blocks, 99.1%) than nonhospitalists (7259 of 7362 blocks, 98.6%; P = .02). Concordance did not correlate with pathologists' academic rank or subspecialization. Turnaround times were comparable for hospitalists, nonhospitalists, and fellows across multiple metrics.

Conclusions.—: Our anatomic pathology hospitalists significantly reduced the frozen section obligations of nonhospitalist faculty, with a small but significant increase in frozen-permanent concordance and no substantial change in turnaround time.