The Effectiveness of an Orientation Program in Reducing Errors in Histopathology Requisitions

Introduction: The majority of laboratory errors occur in the pre-analytical phase of the laboratory testing. A major contributor to this is the incomplete filling of the laboratory requisition form (LRF) especially in countries where it is filled manually. In histopathology, the lack of critical information may lead to inaccurate pathological diagnosis as well as delays in issuing the report. The purpose of this study was to determine if an orientation programme could minimise these errors. Methods: This study analyzed each of the fields in the histopathology requisition forms (HRF) filled before and after an orientation program for intern doctors. The program focused on explaining why each of the fields should be filled. The prefixed fields were recorded on a Google Sheet. A score of 1 was given if the information was present or not applicable, and 0 was given if the question was left empty. The total count for each field was then obtained and used to calculate the percentage completion. Two-tailed t-tests for proportions were conducted to compare the percentage of completely filled responses before and after the orientation program, for each of the fields. Results: Following the program, there was a significant improvement in the completion rates of twelve out of the twenty fields in the form. Discussion: This study proved that implementation of an orientation programs is a valuable quality improvement initiative, which will undoubtedly contribute to the reduction of errors occurring due to incomplete filling of HRF especially in middle and low income countries without a digitized system.