Leica Biosystems Partners With QualityStar To Provide ePathology-Based Quality Assurance Expertise
VISTA, CA – April 2, 2014 — Leica Biosystems, a global leader in ePathology solutions, announced today, a partnership with QualityStar® LLC, a leading independent and external quality assurance service provider. This collaboration will serve to deliver a streamlined, metrics-based anatomical pathology quality assurance program utilizing Aperio ePathology™ solutions, from Leica Biosystems, to provide access to QualityStar’s national network of specialized experts in pathology.
”Implementing a quality assurance process can help to standardize pathology reporting and reduce inter-observer variability by providing a defined baseline for slide interpretation,” stated Anne Brumme, vice president, Leica Biosystems, Pathology Imaging. “By providing a digital platform with easy upload of images for expert review, users benefit from faster quality assurance assessment, eliminating the time and cost to ship glass slides while maintaining whole slide review and full reporting.”
QualityStar offers an innovative and objective Professional Practice Score™ (PPS), focused on reducing the significant gap in diagnosis accuracy between common practice and best demonstrated practice for pathology diagnostics. “Together, with Leica Biosystems, we address the shortage of pathologists for quality assurance efforts and provide confidential and objective feedback,” said Mark Spencer, president of QualityStar.
“Leica Biosystems’ Aperio ePathology solutions, combined with QualityStar, bring leading-edge technology and an accredited quality assurance solution to the industry,” said Stephen White, general counsel and vice president, corporate development, Leica Biosystems, Pathology Imaging. “This partnership will enable users to adopt digital QA without costly overheads or IT implementation. Ultimately, the ability to quickly and securely upload cases for professional review will help lead to better patient care.
About Leica Biosystems:
Leica Biosystems is a global leader in workflow solutions and automation, striving to advance cancer diagnostics to improve patients’ lives. Leica Biosystems provides anatomical pathology laboratories and researchers a comprehensive product range for each step in the pathology process, from sample preparation and staining to imaging and reporting. Our easy-to-use and consistently reliable offerings help improve workflow efficiency and diagnostic confidence. The company is represented in over 100 countries. It has manufacturing facilities in 7 countries, sales and service organizations in 19 countries, and an international network of dealers. The company is headquartered in Nussloch, Germany. Further information can be found at: www.LeicaBiosystems.com.
About QualityStar:
QualityStar is an independent quality assurance consortium and subscription service offering expert confidential third party quality assurance review using innovative tools to measure diagnostic proficiency. Approved by the American Board of Pathology (APB) as a MOC QA Level IV program, QualityStar draws on a national network of specialized experts and serves as an impartial alternative to in-house quality assurance. QualityStar provides an objective methodology, Practice Proficiency Score™ and longitudinal benchmarking for diagnostic professionals to meet On Going Professional Practice Evaluation (OPPE) requirements for Joint Commission. QualityStar goes beyond the standard peer review concept – ultimately to help providers improve their diagnostic proficiency. For more information, visit www.qualitystar.net.
Source: Leica Biosystems
