The Doctor's Doctor in the Age of Digital Pathology

Physicians value the professional working relationships with pathologists, since they value accurate and timely pathology reports. The professional working relationship between these two professionals lead to better understanding of pathology reports and informed decision-making. As it stands communication between pathologists and surgeons, for example, have room for improvement. Many physicians place great emphasis on the significance of accuracy and completeness in pathology reports. It has been regarded that patients should be aware that any questions they may have their report will be directed towards their doctor or oncologist. The primary objective of pathologists is to ensure that the information provided to doctors is not only accurate but also complete. Patients seek correct and thorough information from their providers, and if the communication and understanding is lacking between pathologist and doctor, the quality of reporting to patients about their diagnosis will suffer. The founder of Personal Pathology Consulting sought to bridge the pathology communication gap between the doctor and patient to improve the quality of care, and lessen the burden on doctors to translate the details to patients. In short, the doctor's doctor has an obligation to get accurate information in reporting results efficiently and the doctor has an obligation to understand fully that information.

Enter digital pathology. There are advantages as well as challenges ahead of pathologists as digital pathology becomes integrated into practice. The use of digital pathology has the potential to revolutionize the field of pathology by increasing the availability of pathology consultations for clinicians. This can lead to improved workflow efficiencies and standardized pathology reports. By sharing annotated, whole-slide imaging, clinicians can gain a better understanding of the interventions required, such as surgery. This can result in more efficient interventions and possibly fewer patient complications. The ability of pathologists to access and diagnose digitized images of a specimen at any time, especially remotely, can provide clinicians with the information needed to initiate an appropriate course of therapy sooner, leading to better outcomes for patients. The benefits of digital pathology are numerous and can significantly improve the quality of care provided to patients.

Digital integration can pose several challenges to pathologists as well. As digital pathology software integration is poised for future success, with its ability to be interoperable and support routine pathology workflows being key factors, the uncertainty of accuracy comes into play. The superiority of whole slide images over glass slides has been demonstrated, but the true value of digital pathology lies in its ability to provide easy access to digital slides from any location, innovative workflows, and to advance pathology through clinical transformative solutions utilizing machine learning and decision support tools. Pathologists are still the deciding force behind the final readout and diagnosis, and the detection of inaccuracy will still be spearheaded by the pathologist. In addition on the technical side, the analysis of digital histopathology data is a complex task that presents a significant challenge due to the enormous density of data that algorithms must process. This challenge is particularly pronounced when compared to other imaging modalities, such as radiology, which do not typically require the same level of data processing. The sheer volume of data that must be analyzed and interpreted in digital histopathology requires sophisticated algorithms and advanced computational techniques to effectively manage and extract meaningful insights. The presentation of technical obstacles has the potential to lead to a decrease in efficiency. These mentioned above only scratch the surface in the lack of confidence many pathologists consider in digital pathology.

Although there are many challenges and likely more hesitancy from pathologists to go digital, the integration of AI in medical imaging, particularly in digital pathology, presents a promising opportunity for breakthroughs in the healthcare industry. An encouraging factor is the improvement in pathologist-doctor communication, which will lead to an improvement in patient care. However, it is crucial to effectively manage the strengths and limitations of this technology to ensure optimal performance and accuracy. By doing so, it has the potential to significantly enhance medical imaging and therefore, the doctor's doctor will impact improved patient outcomes.