Patient Sample Management and Chain of Custody: Modern Practices for Modern Demands

Secure and Simplify Your Tissue Asset Management

Pathology and histology laboratory managers are the custodians of vital patient assets in the form of FFPE tissue blocks and slides generated from tissue biopsies. In this role, laboratory managers must balance the demands of federal, state, and local regulations to maintain secure control over these vital assets with the need to have them accessible for check-out requests.

With cancer cases in particular, biopsied tissue samples are not only essential in the initial diagnosis, but continue to serve a vital purpose for those patients seeking to enroll in clinical trials. Enrolling in these trials can be extremely competitive and opportunistic, and often requires patients to submit their preserved tissue samples as part of the qualifying process for acceptance into a trial. If the sample takes too long to be located, or worse yet goes missing, the patient may miss their chance for enrollment with potentially disastrous consequences both for that patient’s future and the reputation of the hospital in charge of maintaining secure custody of that sample.

In this webinar, we will explore the increasing challenges of maintaining secure chains of custody and proper asset management practices for patient tissue samples; three different asset management models currently in practice; and a case study of Massachusetts General Hospital’s experience implementing the Epredia™ Arcos™ Tissue Block Management System — an automated sample archiving solution that enables high levels of security and control for lab managers.

Learning Objectives

This webinar will help you:

• Gain understanding of the factors increasing the demand on and complexity of tissue asset management practices
• Explore the pros and cons of leading asset management system methodologies
• Learn how a digital tissue archiving solution can lead to increased security and fewer lost or misplaced samples through a case study of Massachusetts General Hospital’s experience implementing the Arcos Tissue Block Management System

Watch on Demand       Download Slides (PDF, 1.2MB)

This webinar is produced by Whitehat Communications, a provider of continuing education programs in clinical laboratory sciences that has been approved by the ASCLS P.A.C.E.™ Program. One P.A.C.E. credit hour will be provided for this complimentary, basic-level program.

Joan Vesey, HTASCP, Owner Red Fox Histology Solutions, LLC

Joan Vesey is an accomplished histologist with over 30 years of experience in both the clinical and laboratory setting encompassing overseeing applications, leading research and development, and owning her own histology consulting company. Vesey helped develop some of the hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining consumables we’ve come to recognize in the industry, and her expertise aligns with the Epredia mission and vision to improve lives by enhancing cancer diagnostics.