What Impact Has the Introduction of a Synoptic Report for Rectal Cancer Had on Reporting Outcomes for Specialist Gastrointestinal and Nongastrointestinal Pathologists?

Abstract

Completeness of reporting, irrespective of subspecialist interest, was dramatically increased by the use of a synoptic report. Improvements in completeness were most pronounced among nongastrointestinal pathologists, enabling them to attain a level of report completeness comparable to that of gastrointestinal pathologists. Further studies are required to determine whether there are actual discrepancies in the detection of prognostic features between specialist gastrointestinal and nongastrointestinal pathologists.