The Príncipe de Asturias University Hospital in Alcalá de Henares is the first Anatomic Pathology Service to receive Histopathology accreditation according to the UNE-EN ISO 15189 standard.

"We all want to do our job well but the objective analysis of various aspects of this work will enable detecting, correcting and preventing what does not work well, thereby encouraging us when the tests give positive results and will allow us to improve. If, with certification, the improvements were mostly in Pre-analytics and in the technical aspect of Analytics, with accreditation major improvements have been in diagnostic activity in the analytical and Post-analytic phases", explained Dr. Pilar Martínez Onsurbe, Head of the Anatomic Pathology Service, and María Dolores Vélez, Pathology Faculty Specialist, both from the Príncipe de Asturias University Hospital.

The Anatomic Pathology field is where accreditation activity is increasing the most, with the UNE-EN ISO 15189 standard. ENAC had already granted accreditation in some areas of Anatomic Pathology such as cervical-vaginal Cytology, with several accredited laboratories, and molecular Oncology testing, such as detection of mutations and gene signatures.

The first accreditation has been awarded for the study of biopsies and surgical parts for studying and diagnosing tumour pathology in the digestive system and skin. The assessment process covers all stages - from the macroscopic study of the surgical specimen or biopsy, processing, inclusion and incision in paraffin, and carrying out stains, histology and Immuno-histochemistry - necessary for the later microscopic study by the pathologist to reach the diagnosis. All these processes are assessed by referring to the UNE-EN ISO 15189 reference standard, as well as the protocols, guidelines and recommendations put together by the national scientific societies (SEAP - Spanish Anatomic Pathology Society) or international (e.g.: CAP-College of American Pathologists, ADASP-Association of Directors of Anatomic and Surgical Pathology).

SEAP produced the document "Rules and Advice on good professional practice in Anatomic Pathology" which includes specific activities to be set up to ensure quality, as well as technical aspects such as diagnoses, which should be considered in Anatomic Pathology.

"For a few years, our Scientific Society has encouraged Anatomic Pathology services to get accredited and has produced some documents that, at least to us, have been very useful," indicated Pilar Martínez Onsurbe and María Dolores Vélez.

This document was prepared within a project promoted by the then President of the society, Dr. José Antonio Giménez, who enthusiastically mobilized SEAP to launch a series of activities promoting accreditation in Anatomic Pathology, the results of which are being seen now.

"The scientific societies should play a unifying role in what quality programmes are concerned with and should prioritise them in order to reach national consensus coordinated by scientific societies because that benefits everyone and makes us better. And so, that's what we did in the SEAP. We understood that as a scientific society we should be very actively involved in providing specific criteria for Anatomic Pathology accreditation", points out Giménez Mas.

For Giménez Mas, the benefits accreditation provides are "many", above all for the patient:

"The main benefit is for the patient. Structurally establishing the standard's requirements covering all the elements (personnel, equipment and facilities) and key stages (pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical, up to the diagnosis) allows you to guarantee that the activities are performed in accordance with recognized protocols, minimizing the risk of error and meeting a standard that is internationally recognized".

In response to the growing interest in Anatomic Pathology ENAC organized a specific informative seminar on 9 February 2017.

In addition to the accreditation in histopathology, Príncipe de Asturias University Hospital has also obtained accreditation in liquid cervical-vaginal cytology samples, as well as non-gynaecologic specimens and PAAF (the only laboratory now accredited for these scopes).