Standards Save Lives

July 20, 2026

Council On Informatics And Pathology Innovation - CAP

Transcript

Nancy Johnson 0:00

Welcome to Path News Network Daily Edition from the College of American Pathologists. I'm Nancy Johnson. It's Monday, July 20th.

Nancy Johnson 0:09

In today's top story, what do your smartphone and patient safety have in common? It all comes down to standards. Then we'll preview a few of the stories we're reporting this week with expert input from CAP members. But first, in today's story. When you connect your phone to your car, you expect it to work. When you send a photo from your phone to your computer, you don't think twice about whether the two systems can communicate. That's because technology companies follow common standards that make those connections possible. In healthcare, creating those same kinds of connections can be far more complicated. As digital pathology and artificial intelligence transform laboratory medicine, the CAP is helping develop standards designed to ensure critical patient information moves safely and accurately between systems.

Dr. Raj Dash 1:03

So we have a number of gaps that force users, humans, to copy and paste information in between information systems, and that can lead to errors. So there's a critical patient safety gap there with systems that don't talk well with one another.

Nancy Johnson 1:19

Dr. Raj Dash serves as vice chair of the CAP's Council on Informatics and Pathology Innovation. He says errors can have serious consequences when information is attached to the wrong patient or isn't available when it's needed.

Dr. Raj Dash 1:35

It could be as bad as a patient not getting the treatment that they require to treat their cancer. It could also be patients getting treatment that they don't need and getting that because they've their information has been swapped with those of another patient.

Nancy Johnson 1:56

The CAP supports global standards development groups such as IHE Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and DICOM Working Group 26 Pathology, helping create common rules that allow different systems to work together. The challenge is that new technologies like AI are advancing faster than interoperability standards.

Dr. Raj Dash 2:19

And the reason they they're not connected is simply that the field is changing. AI, machine learning, and digital analysis algorithms are being developed all the time, but there's not enough time being put into how the output of those systems connect with existing systems in the hospital.

Nancy Johnson 2:47

Dr. Dash emphasizes the importance of practicing pathologists having a voice in these highly technical discussions among healthcare technology vendors.

Dr. Raj Dash 2:57

The pathologist needs to be part of the standard development in order to ensure that the way in which vended systems come together, are developed, and work together, always put the patient first, and the pathologist is there to serve as that patient advocate in a setting that's otherwise very technical among lab IT vendors.

Nancy Johnson 3:18

Path News Network will continue to follow this story as it develops.

Nancy Johnson 3:23

And now here's a look at some of the stories we're working on this week. Dr. Cullen Lilley previews the Residents Forum fall meeting at CAP 26, including a sneak peek at a digital pathology education platform under development with the Joint Pathology Center. Getting the right test at the right time can make all the difference. Dr. Chuck Eby explains what physicians need to know when evaluating patients for inherited blood clotting disorders. And a preview of the biggest trade show in laboratory medicine, the Association for Diagnostics and Laboratory Medicine. From new proficiency testing programs to CAP experts presenting the latest research, we'll fill you in on what to watch for at ADLM.

Nancy Johnson 4:13

That does it for the Daily Edition. Share this newscast with your social media network. And if you're watching this video on YouTube, hit the like button and leave a comment. And if you've got a story we should be covering, write to us at stories at CAP.org. We're back tomorrow at 5 a.m. Eastern for another episode of the Daily Edition. I'm Nancy Johnson. Have a great day.