Road to Digital Pathology Smoother with Enterprise IT Partnership: An In-Depth Discussion with Mustafa Yousif, MD, Director of Digital Pathology, Michigan Medicine

Welcome to healthsystemCIO’s interview with Dr. Mustafa Yousif, Director of Digital Pathology, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology, at Michigan Medicine. Dr. Yousif has been at the forefront of a groundbreaking digital transformation in pathology at Michigan Medicine, leading efforts to implement a comprehensive digital pathology system over the past 24 months. In this conversation, Dr. Yousif shares insights into the challenges and successes of this ambitious project, the collaboration between pathology and enterprise IT, and the critical role of digital innovation in advancing patient care and medical research.

Watch or listen below

Key points from the interview include:

1. Background and Motivation:
   • Michigan Medicine has over a decade of experience in digital pathology, primarily used for consultation, teaching, and research. However, the move towards using digital pathology for primary diagnosis was catalyzed by the needs arising during the COVID-19 pandemic.
   • A survey was conducted across the department to understand the needs, concerns, and enthusiasm for digital pathology, which informed the planning and implementation process.
2. Challenges and Solutions:
   • The department faced challenges such as the need to redesign the lab to accommodate digital scanning, space constraints, and the integration of multiple image viewers.
   • The transformation involved renovating labs, acquiring new scanners, and integrating a PACS for image management, which streamlined the process and saved significant implementation time.
3. Collaboration with Enterprise IT and Radiology:
   • Collaboration with the radiology department and enterprise IT was crucial. Michigan Medicine leveraged the existing PACS used in radiology to avoid silos and ensure an enterprise-wide imaging solution.
   • This approach saved considerable time and resources, and now other institutions are looking to Michigan Medicine’s model as a benchmark.
4. Standardization and Future Outlook:
   • The department adopted DICOM format for all pathology images, which allows for interoperability across different scanners and systems.
   • Dr. Yusif emphasized the importance of standardization in digital pathology and the benefits of using a unified system for both radiology and pathology images.

The interview is a detailed exploration of the strategic, technical, and collaborative efforts involved in Michigan Medicine’s digital pathology transformation.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:49 — 28.0MB)

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