Information systems have become an integral part of the practice of anatomic pathology. Whereas only a decade ago computerization of pathology workflow was considered somewhat of a luxury, it is now the rare pathology laboratory which does not use some sort of information system to manage at least some component of its specimen processing. As information systems becomes more fundamental to the practice of anatomic pathology, pathologists are being called upon to make decisions about how these systems will be implemented, upgraded, and used in their own departments and at their own institutions.

This course is NOT targeted for Information Technology specialists, nor will it try to turn its attendees into them. Rather, it is aimed at providing pathologists, residents, and/or administrators with the practical information they need to make intelligent, informed decisions about the deployment and use of information technology tools in their day-to-day practice of pathology.

The first part of the course will cover many aspects of anatomic pathology information system management and use. Included will be a discussion of different philosophies for pathology system administration (e.g. departmental based vs institutional based), different architectures for system deployment (client-server systems and thin client technology), and a critical look at software "features" available in many commercially available systems.

The second part of the course will focus on specific "problem areas" and provide tips for successful deployment. This will include Digital Imaging, Interfaces, Teleconsultation, and Legacy Data Conversion. Much of the time will be spent discussing issues associated with capture, storage, and use of digital images. The discussion of each problem area will start very basic (What is a digital image anyway? What does JPEG mean? How many pixels do I need? What is HL7, and what happened to HL1 through HL6?) and progress to more detailed technical information (How do I build a scalable web-delivered image repository? What do interface engines do? How can I convert a legacy free text field into a dictionary field?), so there should be something for everyone.

Finally, the course will conclude with a look at the future of pathology and the role information systems and information management might have in shaping the practice of medicine.

Time will be allotted for open discussion of alternative solutions. A detailed syllabus, distributed at the course, will cover all of the topics discussed. Upon completion, attendees will be better positioned for both informed decision making and intelligent communication with the information systems groups at their institutions.