Jody E. Hooper • Alex K. Williamson
Editors

2019

Best Practices and Future Directions

Every 5 years or so, another paper is published reaffirming the continuing clinical value of the autopsy in uncovering unsuspected clinical diagnoses, many of which could, if treated, have altered the course of the patient’s care. It is somewhat intriguing that there appears to be a need to continue to “make the case” for the existence of the autopsy on a relatively regular basis. There is, of course, the pervasive sense among clinical colleagues that modern diagnostic techniques are so advanced that patients no longer die with undiagnosed or misdiagnosed disease – yet the data clearly and consistently show otherwise.