Clinical autopsy evaluation

The hospital autopsy rate in Japan dropped from 63.5 per cent in 1972 to 20.9 per cent in 1995. This reduction is attributable to declining interest by clinicians, surgeons and pathologists. The decline is a very serious problem, because the autopsy contributes to what has been called "quality control" of medical care. However, the method of autopsy should change along with advances in diagnostic technology or various changes in the circumstances surrounding medical practice. The most important problem at present is that autopsies require both time and effort. Delayed autopsy reports by pathologists may result in declined interest by clinicians and thus limit the benefits. To shorten the time delay for autopsy reports, clinicians must clarify their clinical questions concerning the deceased patient so that pathologists can readily identify the patients' problems and determine the causes more promptly, clearly and diplomatically. Other suggestions for improvement include the following: the reports should be simpler; the concept that all autopsies must be complete should be eliminated; a hospital accreditor must emphasize that clinicians intend to gain more precise diagnoses by obtaining post-mortem tissues of various organs using biopsy instruments. In addition, communication between pathologists and clinicians must be active to determine the pathogenesis of disease.