Kaede Ota Sullivan, MD, MBA, Vice Chair of Academic Affairs and Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, delivered a presentation on diagnostic stewardship at the Association for Molecular Pathology 2025 annual meeting in Boston. The Pathologist featured this presentation, which focused on how structured diagnostic stewardship programs can enhance patient care and reduce unnecessary treatments.
Sullivan explained that such programs involve not only optimizing test utilization but also improving specimen collection, test performance, and reporting processes. She emphasized the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration among laboratory professionals, infectious disease specialists, medical staff, nursing teams, and information technology personnel.
“A structured diagnostic stewardship program can improve patient outcomes and reduce unnecessary treatment,” said Sullivan. She added that these efforts require teamwork across multiple disciplines to be effective.
The presentation highlighted the growing focus within healthcare on coordinated approaches to diagnostics as a way to ensure appropriate care while minimizing excess interventions.
