A considerable portion of the NHHRC report discusses the importance of building a healthcare system around the consumer. It is therefore timely if not overdue that the pathology industry also starts to give greater consideration about the end recipient of its services. To kick off this Consumer session will be Janney Wale, a prominent consumer advocate and member of several government pathology related committees including the Board of Lab Tests Online.  To continue the consumer theme will be a speaker from the National Prescriber Scheme (NPS) which provides an information portal about drugs and therapies for both consumers and healthcare professionals. What can the pathology industry learn from NPS as we seek to develop a greater understanding and appreciation of the needs of consumers?

Two major issues might concern consumers just now. One is a perennial one, namely medical error. The pathology industry is not the greatest sinner but we should not be complacent. As professionals we are aware that errors do occur and we struggle to build ever more complex system to prevent them. Jeff Braithwaite will discuss a novel approach to dealing with medical error which will be of interest to both consumers and providers alike. A second major issue for consumers might be the increasing availability of genetic testing and the ramifications of the results of such tests. Very different approaches to this “hot topic” are being taken in different countries and we will hear about these from Andrew Faucett, Trevor English and Graeme Suthers in US, New Zealand and Australia respectively.