Australia is a world leader in cervical cancer prevention and is on track to eliminate cervical cancer by 2035.  Although the pandemic has disrupted healthcare for many people, this goal is still achievable with participation in screening and immunisation programs.

The high quality and innovation in Australia’s pathology laboratories has been key to reaching this enviable point.

Join the conversation to ask the experts your questions about how we can beat cervical cancer.

The post Your chance to ask the experts on cervical cancer this International Pathology Day first appeared on Know Pathology Know Healthcare.

A total of 10 international speakers from Europe and North America who are leaders in their fields, and more than 140 Australasian speakers will present at the conference.

Delegates can attend any scientific stream they choose, and the content of this multidisciplinary conference will be wide ranging, with several talks covering current issues and topical themes.

Visiting from the USA, Professor Liron Pantanowitz will speak about AI & Pathology: The Path Ahead. Alongside his work at the University of Pittsburgh, Prof Pantanowitz is an Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Pathology Informatics.

Professor of Clinical Microbiology in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, USA, Prof Bobbi Pritt will deliver her presentation on The Social Pathologist: wisely using social media for network building, education, and academic advancement.

A presentation on E-diagnosis and group discussion will be led by Dr Harsha Sheorey, Clinical Microbiologist at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne.

We encourage everyone to take part in the social events which are also part of the conference program, but please don’t overindulge in case you end up featuring in Dr Melissa Thompson’s talk – Acute alcohol intoxication!

Pathology Update 2020 will take place at the International Convention Centre, Sydney from Friday 20th – Sunday 22nd March.

Early bird registration closes on Thursday 20 February 2020. You can follow RCPA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

The post Will you crack the code? Book your place at Pathology Update 2020 to find out first appeared on Know Pathology Know Healthcare.

Pathology Update 2019 is the annual scientific educational meeting for the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia and the only conference of its kind in Australasia; bringing together pathology professionals from all eight pathology disciplines and world-renowned pathology experts.

This year the event included 11 internationally renowned pathologists in their fields who presented to their colleagues on a variety of topics.

One of the highlights was in the sphere of genetic pathology, with a focus on cancer genomics, a very exciting area of pathology right now. Professor Obi Griffith presented at the Innovations Plenary on ‘Surveying the genomic landscape of tumours and tumour models – the next frontier.’

In a similar vein, Dr Lillian Siu presented the Eva Raik plenary talk on ‘Precision Cancer Medicine – cup half full or cup half empty’.

Not to be outdone, Haematology highlights included four excellent lectures delivered by world-renowned Haematopathologist, Dr Elaine Jaffe, on the classification of lymphoma and potential differential diagnoses in the assessment of potential lymphoproliferative disorders. Dr Jaffe was award RCPA Honorary Fellowship at the Annual Awards and Admission Ceremony.

More generally, Pathology Update covered topical lifestyle sessions on topics from mindfulness, sleep, fad diets, stand-up/sitting down, and managing stress sessions.

Pathology Update 2019’s Charity of Choice was also revealed at the event, going to the Snowdome Foundation.

Snowdome has a mission to improve outcomes for Australian men, women and children living with blood cancers. A total of $7K was raised at the event and you can still donate at https://www.snowdome.org.au/donate/

Dr Debra Graves also celebrated 20 years at the helm of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia, serving as the Inaugural Chief Executive Officer.

All in all the event was a fantastic event for all those attending, helping keep the sector abreast of the latest developments across the field.

All Pathology Update 2019 Post Conference information is available at https://www.rcpa.edu.au/Events/Pathology-Update/Post-Conference

The post Pathology Update 2019: wrap first appeared on Know Pathology Know Healthcare.

The theme for the conference is ‘communicating for safer diagnosis’ and as the name suggests, language and communication are going to be the focus along with better health outcomes.

Making a diagnostic error can have devastating consequences, therefore this conference will aim to improve safety through more effective communication. Communication between pathology laboratories and clinicians about choice of tests, results and interpretation is vital to accurate diagnosis.

Some of the questions the conference will pose include:

• How can we communicate for safer diagnosis?
• How can health IT better support the diagnostic process?
• How can clinicians better communicate with each other across the silos in healthcare?
• How can patients better engage in the diagnostic process?
• Together, how can we make the diagnostic process safer and more reliable for patients?

Supported by organisations including the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, Macquarie University, Monash University and the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Quality Assurance Programs, the AusDEM 2019 conference will bring together thought leaders in the growing field of diagnostic safety.

Some of the keynote speakers include: Prof Jeffrey Braithwaite, Founding Director of the Australian Institute of Health Innovation; Prof Andrea Rita Horvarth, Clinical Director, Department of Clinical Chemistry and Endocrinology NSW Health Pathology Randwick; and A/Prof Lisa Sanders, Yale School of Medicine and contributor to New York Times Magazine.

Also, Professors Andrew Georgiou and Michael Legg will be running a pathology focussed interactive symposium on improving diagnostic information flow together Paul Epner, co-founder of the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM).

The event is open to clinicians with an interest in diagnosis, including pathologists and radiologists, medical educators, researchers, nurses, patients, quality managers, medical administrators and medical students.

For more information contact the Conference Secretariat on +61 2 8204 0770 or email ausdem2019@ashm.org.au.

The post AusDEM 2019 conference: communicating for safer diagnosis first appeared on Know Pathology Know Healthcare.

Pathology Update 2019 will operate under the theme of ‘The power of personalised pathology’ where delegates and guests of the event are invited for a weekend of learning, networking, and fun.

While the event officially starts on Friday the 22^nd and runs through to Sunday the 24^th, February 2019.

Pathology Update is the only scientific multi-disciplinary meeting in Australasia and is open to pathologists, scientists, trainees and healthcare workers to attend. The scientific program offers something for everyone and brings all delegates together daily for an interesting masterclass and plenary session.

The official program kicks off on Friday morning at 9am and runs through to 3pm on Sunday, where an impressive array of esteemed national and eleven international speakers will address attendees on a variety of disciplines, ranging from genetics to immunopathology to anatomical pathology to microbiology to forensics.

The topics to be presented include HPV clinical problems & epidemiology, the clinical utility of circulating tumour DNA in haematological malignancies, and the role of the reference laboratory in outbreak investigations to name but a few.

With subject matter experts and leaders in their field, it’s a fantastic opportunity to learn more as well as to network.

Opportunities to socialise with colleagues and peers, start with the Welcome Cocktail Party on Friday evening, to be followed on Saturday evening by the College Fellows and Award Winners event where new entrants will be admitted. And just to cover the spread, there will also be rose and sparkling closing drinks on Sunday from 3-4pm.

And for those involved with Pathology Awareness Australia (PAA) and the know pathology know healthcare (KPKH) initiative, there will be a PAA ambassador’s breakfast on Saturday the 23^rd from 7.00-8.30am 23 February where plans for raising the profile of pathogy in Australia in 2019 will be discussed. All enquiries may be sent to Shinasa Enayeth.

To find out more about the Pathology Update 2019 event and to register, please visit the dedicated site here. For more details please contact the RCPA via the contact details here.

The post Pathology Update 2019 event: ‘the power of personalised pathology’ first appeared on Know Pathology Know Healthcare.

Political engagement

On 27 June, along with Rowan Ramsey and Graham Perrett of the Parliamentary Friends of Diabetes and Diabetes Australia, Pathology Awareness Australia (PAA) helped organise a fantastic diabetes testing event in the Senate Alcove at Australian Parliament House. Attended by the likes of Health Minister Greg Hunt and Patrick Dodson, leading pathologists Professor Greg Johnson of Diabetes Australia and Professor Ken Sikaris, those attending not only had an HbA1c test but were presented with alarming statistics

Then on 12 September, Jason Clare and Warren Entsch of the Parliamentary Friends of Prostate Cancer Awareness were there to help PAA build a prostate cancer testing event into a roaring success. With 217 men and 43 politicians taking prostate tests it was wall-to-wall in the Senate alcove, amongst the politicians were deputy PM Michael McCormack and shadow treasurer Anthony Albanese.

To date 95 federal politicians have come through pathology labs since they began. In this financial year there have already been 15 visitors, including Julie Bishop and Jim Chalmers, with more scheduled for early 2019.

International Pathology Day

this year was a ripping success with 23 federal politicians posting in support on social media, including creating their own videos, infographics, and even passing a motion in support of International Pathology Day in the senate. We also had 10 Health Consumer Organisations, such as Diabetes Australia and the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation supporting the day, with messages of support from CEOs.

All things media

In the social media space, for Facebook alone we had a reach in 2018 of 1,436,744 with 124,290 likes. A social media highlight was International Pathology Day, with 23 federal politicians posting in support of the day, helping us to reach 418,823 people.

The knowpathology website continues to grow on the back of informative stories, while we continue to run our Community Service Announcement TV advertisement, which had 721 spots across channels 10, 7, 7Two, and 7Mate over the course of 2018.

Health Consumer Organisations

In addition to the support from our HCO supporters on International Pathology Day and at testing events in parliament house, this year we have brought educators from organisations like Diabetes Australia to our political lab tours in order to give them a sharper focus on specific health conditions, a practice we look forward to continuing and expanding in 2019. Along with more social media sharing for awareness days, articles and events.

With more political engagement, media reach and HCO collaboration, the year 2019 should be one to celebrate for those either working in, or engaged with, the pathology sector.

Until then, enjoy the rest of the year and enjoy the festive season.

The post That’s a wrap: know pathology’s greatest hits of 2018 first appeared on Know Pathology Know Healthcare.