Key Learnings From Pathologists

Executive Dialogue

Quality and Preparedness During a Pandemic

The novel coronavirus global pandemic upended hospitals and hospital laboratories when it penetrated the US and spread throughout the country. Health care providers urgently moved to reengineer operations to meet the demands of testing, triaging, and caring for patients with COVID-19. Laboratories saw their workloads shift focus from routine to COVID-19 testing. While hospitals and health systems acted swiftly to implement safety and quality control measures in patient clinical care, it became imperative that laboratories move quickly and smoothly to deliver accurate results to meet the daunting challenges of COVID-19.

Partnering together to confront the pandemic, leading pathologists and hospital executives from throughout the US recently shared their novel coronavirus lessons learned and ongoing challenges in an American Hospital Association (AHA) executive dialogue. Their conversation underscored the importance of strong working relationships between health care executives and laboratory leaders.