Happy 2023!
Updates from Pathologists Overseas!
The past year was a busy one for PO! As an organization that is primarily concerned with supporting Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in low-and-middle-income (LMICs) countries, travel restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 have been particularly challenging for us. Yet we rose to occasion by enhancing remote outreach. In particular, we managed to sustain and increase our efforts in virtual Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programs, External Quality Assurance (EQA) and Laboratory Information Systems (LIS). These individual updates are below.
New Partnership
In 2022, we also gained a rewarding partnership with Heart to Heart International (HHI), a Kansas City-based organization that works to ensure quality care is provided equitably to medically under-resourced communities and after disaster situations both within the U.S. and around the world. In particular, HHI supports grants and human resource management for Pathologists Overseas (PO); and PO helps to fulfill and extend HHI’s mission to improve healthcare access globally.
New Staff
This year also brought new members to the PO team. I would like to introduce two new staff members who joined PO in the last quarter of 2022. These are David Ennis, our LIS Technical Lead who is based in Nigeria, and Taylor Harris, our Operations Manager who is based in Kansas City, Missouri. The addition of paid staff represents a new paradigm for PO, which has always been a volunteer-led and volunteer-run organization. However, we are evolving to meet the needs of the time and the organization. We are incredibly excited they have joined our team and look forward to a far more productive future thanks to their contributions.
Lastly, I want to especially thank the PO working group, who met weekly to work on PO projects. We would not have been able to accomplish anything without this core working group. Please join me in extending virtual or email (if you choose) appreciation to them for their commitment and hard work.
Tim Amukele, M.D., Ph.D.
President, Pathologists Overseas
Pathologists Overseas Working Group. (from top left) row 1 - Emily Glynn, Taylor Harris, row 2 - Ann Nelson, Merih Tesfazghi, row 3 - Roa Harb, Tim Amukele
LIS Updates
We installed a new Laboratory Information System (LIS) at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) in Zaria, Nigeria in January 2022. We partnered with local LIS expert, Kehulum Belayneh Gedefaw (Ethiopia), who worked with David to install the software and train the local staff. We could not have done this without ComProMed, who donated the LIS software, and HHI, who provided generous funding and logistical support.
David has continued to visit to follow-up on issues of power supply and connection of the LIS with the planned EMR system for the hospital. The LIS leadership will be in discussions with the Chief Medical Director of the hospital as well as laboratory directors and ABUTH IT staff to assure successful implementation of the system.
Our LIS team is working on updating and improving the process for vetting labs and developing a more robust monitoring and evaluation system. We plan to install 1-2 more LIS software in 2023.
EQA Updates
We currently have 6 laboratories enrolled in the PO External Quality Assessment (EQA) program with geographical distribution as follows: 4 in Nigeria, 1 in Malawi, and 1 in Kenya. Since 2019, we have seen significant improvements (~35% increase) in performance on EQA surveys, despite ongoing challenges these laboratories faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Submitting complete results for each survey continues to be a work in progress and likely reflects ongoing challenges with compliance, reagents, material supplies, and instrument maintenance.
The EQA program will provide a performance summary report to labs with performance descriptions and recommendations for improvement in a simplified format. We plan to recruit 3 new labs to be enrolled in the EQA program for the coming year.
Continuing Professional Development Updates
As you may already know, PO started offering continuing professional development (CPD) courses in a virtual format during the COVID-19 pandemic. These virtual courses are more accessible to learners in rural areas, facilitate connections with colleagues across the world, and represent a way to engage our amazing volunteer network during a time of limited travel.
In February 2022, PO partnered with BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) and ABUTH, to launch a free 8-week virtual course on pediatric and lymph node pathology for an audience in sub-Saharan Africa. Over 450 pathologists and laboratorians participated in the course, which provided approximately 12 hours of educational content. In the summer of 2022, we collaborated with the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) and HHI to adapt the World Health Organization’s Laboratory Quality Management Systems (LQMS) series for a Spanish-speaking audience in Central and South America. This course spanned 10 weeks and provided approximately 32 weeks of educational content, consisting of didactic lectures and small group problem-based learning sessions.
During 2023, our CPD program plans to acquire educational software to enhance the educational experience for learners. We also plan to develop education programs for the LIS and EQA programs. Stay tuned for more courses being offered in 2023!