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State of Gross Pathology Technology — Practitioner Survey

Q1. What best describes your role?

*

A

Pathologist

B

Pathologists' Assistant

C

Resident/Fellow

D

Histotechnician/Histotechnologist

E

Laboratory Manager

F

Other

Q2. How many years have you worked in gross pathology (in any role)?

*

A

less than 1 year

B

1-5 years

C

6-10 years

D

11-20 years

E

more than 20 years

Q3. What type of institution do you primarily work in?

*

A

Academic medical center

B

Community hospital

C

Reference laboratory

D

Private pathology practice

E

Veterans Affairs/Government

F

Other

Q4. How would you characterize the resource level of your gross room environment?

*

A

Well-resourced (ample staffing, capital equipment, IT support)

B

Moderately resourced

C

Resource-limited (staffing, equipment, or IT support constraints)

D

Not sure

Q5. What is the general geographic/practice setting of your institution?

*

A

Urban

B

Suburban

C

Rural

D

International/outside the U.S. - specify country/region

Q6. Approximately how many gross specimens does your lab process per day?

*

A

Fewer than 20

B

20-50

C

51-100

D

more than 100

E

not sure / varies significantly

Q7. Which technologies are currently used in your gross room? (Check all that apply)

*

A

digital gross photography

B

video capture

C

structured reporting software

D

voice recognition dictation software

E

barcode specimen tracking

F

digital specimen mapping

G

computer-assisted measurement tools

H

lymph node retrieval devices - non AI

I

AI-assisted tools

J

3D specimen scanning/modeling

K

none of the above

L

Other

Q8. Are the tools you checked above integrated with your Laboratory Information System (LIS), EHR, etc, or do they operate as standalone systems?

*

A

fully integrated with LIS/EHR

B

partially integrated

C

standalone/not integrated

D

not applicable/no digital tools in use

E

not sure

Q9. Overall, how integrated are these technologies into your day-to-day gross room workflow (rather than used ad hoc)?

*

A

mostly analog, minimal digital tools

B

some digital tools, used inconsistently

C

moderately digital, used regularly for select tasks

D

highly digital, embedded in most tasks

E

fully integrated digital workflow end-to-end

Q10. Which aspects of gross examination consume the most time or effort? (Select up to 3)

*

A

Documentation

B

Photography

C

Measurements

D

Specimen mapping

E

Dictation

F

Tissue submission

G

Specimen tracking

H

Teaching/training

I

Quality assurance

Q11. How consistent do you believe measurements and gross estimations (e.g. tumor necrosis percentage estimation) are between different practitioners in your lab?

*

A

very consistent

B

somewhat consistent

C

variable

D

highly variable

E

not sure

Q12. How much cognitive burden do manual tasks (documentation, measurement, dictation) add to your gross room workflow?

*

A

none

B

minimal

C

moderate

D

significant

E

severe

Q13. Which challenges most affect efficiency or quality in the gross room? (Select up to 3)

*

A

staffing shortages

B

workflow inefficiencies

C

documentation burden

D

technology limitations

E

integration issues

F

training requirements

G

cost constraints

H

regulatory requirements

Q14. What factors most limit adoption of new technology in your practice? (Select up to 3)

*

A

cost

B

lack of evidence

C

limited IT support

D

integration concerns

E

training requirements

F

lack of ledership support/buy-in

G

regulatory concerns

H

user resistance

Q15. Which emerging technologies are you most interested in seeing developed for gross pathology? (Select up to 3)

*

A

AI-assisted measurements

B

voice-driven workflow

C

automated specimen mapping

D

3D specimen modeling

E

smart grossing templates

F

computer vision/image analysis

G

workflow analytics

H

robotics/automation

Q16. How comfortable would you be relying on an AI-assisted tool for gross measurements or estimations, assuming appropriate validation?

*

A

very uncomfortable

B

somewhat uncomfortable

C

neutral

D

somewhat comfortable

E

very comfortable

Q17. In five years, which statement best describes your expectation for gross pathology (what you think will actually happen)?

*

A

minimal change from today

B

gradual increase in digital tools

C

broad adoption of digital grossing workflow

D

routine use of AI-assisted gross examination

E

major transformation of gross pathology practice

Q18. Which statement best describes what you would want to see (your ideal outcome), if different from Q18?

*

A

same as my expectation above

B

minimal change from today

C

gradual increase in digital tools

D

broad adoption of digital grossing workflows

E

routine use of AI-assisted gross examination

F

major transformation of gross pathology practice

Q19. (Open Response). What is one technology, capability, or workflow improvement you believe would most improve gross pathology over the next decade?

*