“If you’re outsourcing pathology work, going digital is a no-brainer. Diagnexia has made the transition seamless, and we’re already seeing the benefits."
Jonathan Burgess, Advanced Clinical Reporting Practitioner, East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
The global shortage of pathologists has posed significant challenges for healthcare providers, increasing workloads, leading to backlogs, and delaying critical diagnoses. To address these challenges, East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust partnered with Diagnexia to implement their outsourced pathology reporting service, which evolved from traditional courier-based delivery to a fully digital workflow.
This case study illustrates how Diagnexia’s consultative, partnership-driven approach helped the Trust achieve measurable improvements in efficiency, turnaround, and patient care.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Diagnexia is the UK's fastest-growing outsource pathology service provider. We deliver best-in-class, subspecialty-led diagnostic reporting through both traditional and digital workflows. East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust faced significant challenges due to the national shortage of pathologists, resulting in diagnosis backlogs and delays in patient care. Diagnexia partnered closely with the Trust, providing a phased and consultative solution:
- Initial Implementation: Established reliable outsourced pathology reporting using traditional courier services, with access to our network of high quality subspecialty pathology experts
- Collaborative Planning: Worked with East Sussex's IT and pathology teams to develop a digital transition strategy tailored to their specific needs
- Digital Transformation: Implemented our industry-leading digital slide accessioning and report repatriation systems, integrating seamlessly with their Sectra PACs and Apex LIS.
This evolution from courier transfer to digital accessioning delivered exceptional results:
- Reduced reporting turnaround times to an industry-leading 1.5 days for primary reports
- Decreased administrative workload by 2-3 hours daily
- Achieved over 99% compliance with contractual timeframes, setting a new standard for service reliability
- Improved patient care by supporting faster diagnostic pathways with subspecialty expertise
The Trust’s experience demonstrates how Diagnexia’s best-in-class, subspecialty-led service and collaborative partnership model creates a seamless pathway from traditional to digital pathology services—taking performance from good to great while maintaining diagnostic excellence.
Challenges Faced by East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
Before collaborating with Diagnexia, The Trust struggled with:
Pathologist Shortages
A national issue causing delays in diagnostics.
Backlog of Cases
Increased workloads led to slower processing times.
Manual Processes
Packaging, transporting, and handling slides required excessive time and effort.
Turnaround Time Delays
The reliance on physical slide transport slowed reporting times and impacted patient care.
WHY CHOoSE DIAGNEXIA
Jonathan Burgess shared the impact of this evolution:
"Going fully digital with Diagnexia dramatically reduced the time spent on packaging slides and paperwork by about two to three hours per day. That time can now be reinvested in more valuable lab processes."
Diagnexia's Evolving Outsource Pathology Solution
Diagnexia began by providing outsourced pathology expertise using traditional courier services, then collaborated with The Trust to co-develop and implement a phased digital transition. From the outset, Diagnexia’s team integrated closely with the Trust’s own, acting as an extension of the hospital’s pathology department. This partnership-led approach ensured a smooth, tailored evolution aligned with The Trust’s operational and clinical goals.
Initial Service Implementation:
- Outsourced Pathology Expertise:
Access to Diagnexia's network of pathologists to address staffing shortages. - Reliable Courier Service:
Initial slide transport using courier systems while planning for digital transformation. - Relationship Building:
Working closely with East Sussex's IT and pathology teams to develop a digital transition strategy.
Digital Transformation Phase:
- Digital Case Onboarding:
Transitioning from courier to digitally accessioning Whole Slide Images (WSI) allowing slides to be transmitted digitally. - Integration with Hospital Systems:
Collaborative implementation connecting Diagnexia's service with the hospital's systems (Sectra and Apex). - Seamless Report Repatriation:
Evolving from manual report handling to digital transmission back to the hospital's systems. - Real-time Status Tracking:
Implementing daily email updates to improve visibility and tracking, eliminating manual follow-ups.
Key Outcomes & Measurable Benefits
While Diagnexia's initial courier-based service provided reliable pathology reporting, the digital transformation phase led to dramatic improvements in performance metrics:
Improved Turnaround Times: From Good to Great
- Initial courier service delivered consistent reporting, but the digital transition took performance to the next level
- After digital implementation, average primary report turnaround time reduced to just 1.5 days
- Secondary consultations saw significant improvement, with reports finalised within 4.0 days
- In 2024, The Trust reported over 99% of cases completed within the contractual timeframe after Diagnexia’s digital transformation was fully implemented
Increased Operational Efficiency
- Reduction of 2-3 hours per day in manual slide packaging and administrative tasks.
- Automated report repatriation eliminated the need for staff to manually track and input reports, freeing up personnel for critical tasks.
Enhanced Diagnostic Quality & Data Integrity
- Diagnexia’s integrated digital image quality control flagged out-of-focus regions and artifacts before pathologist review allowing timely remediation of quality issues.
- The bi-directional communication system ensured that every transaction was logged, minimising errors and improving reliability.
Strengthened Patient Care
- Faster diagnostics directly supported improved patient pathways and treatment decisions, reducing delays in care.
- The Trust achieved significant improvements in meeting the national 28-day Faster Diagnostic Standard, a shared goal that aligned both Diagnexia and the Trust in their commitment to better patient outcomes.
Jonathan Burgess shared how this impacted patient pathways in The Trust:
“Anywhere we can improve turnaround times has a positive impact on patient pathways. The transition to Diagnexia’s system has been a huge step forward in that regard.”
Jonathan Burgess highlighted Diagnexia’s exceptional reliability:
"The provision of reports is timely, and if there’s an issue, it’s always dealt with efficiently.”
Reliable Collaboration and Support: Diagnexia vs. Other Providers
Diagnexia continues to act as an extension of the Trust’s pathology department, embedding its team within the Trust’s workflow to provide continuous optimisation, collaborative communication, and dependable diagnostic support. The Trust had previously worked with other outsourcing providers but encountered service delays.
Diagnexia's dedicated integration team also received praise for acting as embedded members of the Trust’s pathology operations, offering responsive, ongoing support throughout the transformation:
Conor Browne, Senior Integration Manager
Conor was acknowledged for his continuous assistance, ensuring a seamless transition from courier to digital workflows and serving as a trusted point of contact for the Trust’s IT and operational teams.
Jason Everill, Integration Engineer
Jason played a pivotal role in report repatriation and maintaining system integrity, ensuring data accuracy and timely report delivery throughout the integration process.
CONCLUSION
A MODEL FOR COLLABORATIVE PATHOLOGY SERVICE EVOLUTION
Diagnexia’s partnership with East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust serves as a benchmark for addressing pathologist shortages through a phased implementation approach. By first providing outsourced pathology expertise via traditional courier methods that delivered reliable service, then collaboratively developing and implementing a digital transition strategy that elevated performance from good to great, Diagnexia has created a model that can work for healthcare providers at any stage of digital readiness.
Jonathan Burgess recommends Diagnexia to other healthcare providers considering digital pathology integration:
"If you’re outsourcing pathology work, going digital is a no-brainer. Diagnexia has made the transition seamless, and we’re already seeing the benefits.”
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If you’re facing similar challenges in your healthcare institution, contact us to learn how they can tailor their services to meet your needs.
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