American Telemedicine Association Issues Clinical Guidelines for Telepathology
Washington, DC (PRWEB) August 28, 2014 -- The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) has released a new set of practice guidelines addressing clinical applications for telepathology. Clinical Guidelines for Telepathology provides recommendations on specific applications, practices, benefits, limitations, and regulatory issues that may arise in the practice of telepathology. The guidelines will help shape a major component of 21st century healthcare. Various market estimates have valued the market for digital pathology and telepathology at over $2 billion globally.
“The ATA Clinical Guidelines for Telepathology represent a major contribution to the field of diagnostic pathology,” said Ronald S. Weinstein, MD, past-president of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology and president emeritus of ATA. “Brilliantly conceived and written in crystal clear prose, these guidelines will help unlock enormous pent-up demand for immediate access to subspecialty pathologists. While the U.S. contains four percent of the world’s population, it is home to over 90 percent of the world's subspecialty pathologists. Access to subspecialty pathologists will be essential for implementing the latest trends in personalized medicine worldwide, and telepathology will be one of the keys to success. I see the ATA Clinical Guidelines for Telepathology becoming the bible for organizing subspecialty telepathology services in many laboratories worldwide, in the near future.”
The new comprehensive guidelines address a variety of clinical applications, clinical and facility responsibilities, and training as well as issues related to operations, quality assurance and regulatory compliance. “I believe that these ATA guidelines will encourage the widespread use of telepathology, help standardize practice, and thereby promote safer use of available technology,” said Liron Pantanowitz, MD, Associate Professor of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Department of Pathology, and chair of the ATA telepathology workgroup.
The guidelines were developed by an expert workgroup composed of leaders in the field of telepathology. Both domestic and international pathologists from academic centers, reference laboratories, the U.S. Air Force and leaders from the digital pathology industry contributed to the guideline development.
About the American Telemedicine Association
The American Telemedicine Association is the leading international resource and advocate promoting the use of advanced remote medical technologies. ATA and its diverse membership work to fully integrate telemedicine into healthcare systems to improve quality, equity and affordability of healthcare throughout the world. Established in 1993, ATA is headquartered in Washington, DC.
ATA’s series of practice guidelines for telemedicine are the critical foundation for the deployment of telemedicine services throughout the world. They form the basis for uniform, quality patient care and safety and are all grounded in empirical research and clinical experience. The establishment of such standards also accelerates the adoption of telemedicine by payers, administrators and providers who are full partners with ATA in their development. To date ATA has published 12 guidelines documents covering an array of best practices in telemedicine. All ATA practice guidelines are available free of charge and can be downloaded on the ATA website: http://www.americantelemed.org/standards.
Mimi Hubbard, American Telemedicine Association, +1 (202) 664-9680, [email protected]
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