Digital Pathology Systems Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Pathology Service Managers, Laboratory Directors and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 7 Nov 2026 Course code SD-HSM-021

Before you join: Participants should understand routine pathology laboratory processes, including specimen accessioning, slide preparation, reporting and quality control, or have equivalent experience supporting laboratory services.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Digital pathology replaces glass-slide movement with scanned whole-slide images, digital worklists and remote review. The change affects far more than scanner selection: specimen identification, laboratory workflows, storage capacity, image quality, reporting, validation, clinical governance, cybersecurity and supplier management all require coordinated decisions. Health systems that plan poorly can create reporting delays, duplicate handling, inaccessible image archives or unsafe diagnostic workflows. Well-managed systems can shorten access times, support specialist consultation and provide a usable image record for clinical, education and research purposes.

This course equips participants to plan, implement and manage digital pathology services from a health-system perspective. Participants examine the end-to-end pathway from accessioning and slide preparation through scanning, image management, diagnostic review and archival. They use DICOM, IHE profiles, ISO 15189 principles and risk-based validation methods to specify workflows, assess readiness and define acceptance criteria. The course also addresses interoperability with laboratory information systems, network and storage design, quality management, artificial intelligence governance, procurement and operational performance measurement.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with hospital laboratory cases, workflow mapping, group decision exercises, implementation simulations and structured application planning. Cases reflect common situations such as a regional laboratory hub introducing remote reporting, a cancer centre building a specialist consultation service and a hospital replacing manual slide retrieval. Participants leave with a digital pathology implementation pack containing a readiness assessment, target workflow, validation outline, governance model and initial performance dashboard.

The course suits laboratory, pathology, informatics, IT, quality and service-management professionals who contribute to digital pathology decisions. It is particularly useful for teams preparing a business case, selecting a platform, scaling a pilot or stabilising an operational service.

What you will be able to do

  • Map an end-to-end digital pathology workflow using specimen, image and reporting handoffs
  • Assess organisational readiness using a structured digital pathology maturity assessment
  • Specify whole-slide imaging, storage, network and viewer requirements for defined service volumes
  • Develop a risk-based validation plan using intended-use claims and acceptance criteria
  • Apply DICOM and IHE concepts to laboratory, image-management and reporting interoperability
  • Design quality indicators and dashboards for turnaround time, image quality and exception management
  • Evaluate artificial intelligence tools using clinical safety, bias, monitoring and procurement criteria
  • Produce an implementation roadmap with governance, resourcing, milestones and risk controls

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Contribute credibly to scanner, platform and supplier selection decisions
  • Translate laboratory needs into testable digital workflow requirements
  • Lead validation discussions using documented intended use and acceptance criteria
  • Identify image-quality and turnaround-time risks before service rollout
  • Build a practical implementation plan for a pathology department or network

For your organisation

  • Reduces avoidable workflow disruption during digital pathology deployment
  • Improves traceability from specimen receipt to image review and reporting
  • Creates clearer criteria for platform acceptance, service support and supplier accountability
  • Supports safer remote reporting and specialist consultation arrangements
  • Establishes measurable controls for image quality, capacity, turnaround time and incidents

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can describe the operating model and critical flow of a digital pathology service.

  • Whole-slide imaging components: scanner, workstation, image server, viewer and network
  • Specimen-to-image workflow from accessioning, grossing, sectioning, staining and scanning
  • Barcoded chain of custody using positive patient identification controls
  • Image quality factors: tissue preparation, focus, colour, compression and resolution
  • Turnaround-time baselines segmented by specimen type, priority and reporting stage
  • Failure-mode mapping with FMEA for scanning and image-routing steps

Participants can assess readiness and define a target operating model for digital pathology adoption.

  • Digital pathology maturity assessment across people, process, technology and governance
  • Stakeholder mapping for pathologists, scientists, IT, quality and clinical users
  • Current-state process mapping with swimlanes, handoffs, queues and exception routes
  • Target operating model defining roles, responsibilities, escalation and support tiers
  • RACI matrix for scanning, validation, reporting, incidents and change control
  • Benefits dependency map linking workflow changes to measurable service outcomes

Participants can define technical requirements and capacity assumptions for a whole-slide imaging service.

  • Scanner selection criteria: throughput, loading, z-stacking, barcode reading and serviceability
  • Resolution and magnification choices matched to intended diagnostic and educational uses
  • Capacity model using slide volumes, scan duration, utilisation and peak demand
  • Storage sizing from image size, retention periods, replication and growth rates
  • Network bandwidth calculations for scanning, viewing, remote reporting and archival
  • Viewer usability requirements covering annotation, measurement, comparison and case navigation

Participants can specify information exchanges between digital pathology, laboratory and clinical systems.

  • DICOM whole-slide image objects, metadata, identifiers and image retrieval
  • HL7 FHIR resources supporting orders, specimens, reports and diagnostic observations
  • IHE Anatomic Pathology profiles for identity, workflow and information exchange
  • Laboratory information system integration points for worklists, status and reports
  • Master patient index matching and duplicate-record exception handling
  • Metadata governance for specimen identifiers, stain details, tissue blocks and annotations

Participants can prepare a risk-based validation approach for defined digital pathology uses.

  • Intended-use statements defining specimen types, users, settings and diagnostic scope
  • Risk assessment using ISO 14971 principles and documented hazard controls
  • Validation protocol structure: cases, comparators, acceptance criteria and deviations
  • Concordance assessment between digital and glass-slide diagnostic interpretations
  • Change-control triggers for scanner upgrades, software releases and workflow modifications
  • Clinical safety case evidence, incident reporting and post-implementation monitoring

Participants can establish quality controls and performance measures for daily service management.

  • ISO 15189 quality-management principles applied to digital pathology processes
  • Daily scanner checks covering calibration, focus performance and barcode recognition
  • Image-quality review criteria for tissue coverage, colour, artefacts and focus
  • Exception worklists for failed scans, missing slides and unreadable identifiers
  • Key performance indicators for scanning throughput, rescans, turnaround and availability
  • Root-cause analysis using five whys and corrective-action tracking

Participants can identify information-security and continuity controls required for digital pathology services.

  • Data classification for patient images, annotations, reports and research datasets
  • Role-based access control for pathologists, laboratory staff, administrators and vendors
  • Audit-log requirements for viewing, annotation, reporting, export and configuration changes
  • Threat modelling for ransomware, unauthorised access, image tampering and service outage
  • Backup and recovery objectives for image archives and reporting continuity
  • Downtime procedures using glass slides, contingency worklists and communication protocols

Participants can evaluate artificial intelligence applications and establish controls for their use.

  • Artificial intelligence use cases: triage, quantification, detection and quality assurance
  • Algorithm evaluation measures: sensitivity, specificity, precision, recall and calibration
  • Bias assessment across specimen types, staining variation and patient populations
  • Human oversight rules defining review, override, escalation and accountability
  • Model monitoring for performance drift, data shifts and unexpected failure patterns
  • Procurement evidence requests covering datasets, validation, updates and explainability

Participants can structure procurement and implementation activities around service requirements and risks.

  • Requirements catalogue separating mandatory, desirable, technical and service criteria
  • Weighted scoring matrix for scanners, software platforms, storage and support
  • Total cost of ownership covering licences, infrastructure, maintenance and staff time
  • Service-level agreements for availability, response times, upgrades and incident resolution
  • Phased implementation plan from pilot validation through scaled service deployment
  • Training and competency plan for pathologists, scientists, administrators and support staff

Participants can create a governed action plan for introducing or improving a digital pathology service.

  • Governance structure linking laboratory leadership, clinical safety, IT and quality
  • Change-impact assessment for roles, workload, reporting practices and professional confidence
  • Communication plan addressing clinical users, laboratory teams, patients and external partners
  • Implementation dashboard with milestones, risks, decisions, owners and review dates
  • Post-go-live review using benefits measures, incident trends and user feedback
  • Ninety-day action plan tailored to local digital pathology priorities

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Digital pathology readiness assessment template
  2. End-to-end specimen and image workflow map
  3. Risk-based validation plan template
  4. Digital pathology requirements catalogue
  5. Operational quality dashboard model
  6. Ninety-day implementation action plan

Who should attend

  • Pathology Service Managers — plan capacity, workflow changes and operational performance
  • Laboratory Directors — govern service quality, validation and diagnostic accountability
  • Biomedical Scientists — manage specimen preparation, scanning exceptions and quality controls
  • Clinical Informatics Managers — connect pathology platforms with enterprise clinical systems
  • Health IT and Infrastructure Managers — size networks, storage, security and support arrangements
  • Procurement and Programme Managers — evaluate suppliers, contracts, implementation risks and benefits

Skills and tools covered

Digital workflow designPathology interoperabilityValidation planningImage quality managementClinical governanceImplementation roadmapping

Tools and standards

DICOM, HL7 FHIR, IHE Anatomic Pathology, ISO 15189

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short technical briefings followed by pathology-service cases, facilitated group analysis and practical planning tasks. Participants map specimen and image flows, assess a sample service against readiness criteria, review validation evidence and respond to operational incidents. Simulations address capacity constraints, scanning exceptions, remote reporting and supplier choices. Instructor feedback links each method to laboratory governance, information management and service delivery. Participants then prepare application actions for their own department, programme or procurement stage.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand routine pathology laboratory processes, including specimen accessioning, slide preparation, reporting and quality control, or have equivalent experience supporting laboratory services. Familiarity with hospital IT, laboratory information systems or clinical programme delivery is useful. Participants should be able to interpret basic process maps and discuss service requirements with technical and clinical colleagues. No prior experience operating a whole-slide scanner, writing software, coding, diagnosing slides or administering image servers is required. The course does not teach histopathological diagnosis.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should understand basic pathology laboratory processes or support them through IT, quality, procurement or programme work. You do not need to operate scanners, diagnose slides or write software.

Bring a laptop if attending online and any non-confidential information about your current workflow, planned service or procurement. Course materials and case information are provided.

It is designed for pathology service managers, laboratory leaders, biomedical scientists, informatics professionals, IT managers and programme staff. Mixed teams benefit because implementation decisions span laboratory, clinical and technical responsibilities.

This course focuses on designing, governing and managing a digital pathology service. It does not teach histopathological interpretation or manufacturer-specific scanner operation.

You can use the readiness assessment, workflow map, validation outline and requirements catalogue for a planned or existing service. These materials support discussions with laboratory leaders, IT teams and suppliers.

The course runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, with about 6.5 contact hours daily. Time is divided between instructor input, cases, group analysis, simulations and application planning across ten modules.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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