Commentary: American Society of Cytopathology Rapid On-Site Evaluation (ROSE) Position Statement

Pathologists are important members of the health care team that provide patient care. In all patient care settings, laboratory testing and diagnosis are critically important to the evaluation and treatment of patients. This spans the gamut from pathology consultation for transfusion reactions in the blood bank, frozen section interpretation in the operating room and pathologist performance of bone marrow biopsies. For cytopathology, the pathologist has traditionally been integrated into real time collaborative patient care for fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy. Pathologists can perform superficial and ultrasound-guided FNA biopsy as well as work collaboratively with a clinician performing an FNA biopsy in a deep seated organ or endoscopic procedure. The process of examining an FNA biopsy in real time at the procedural point of care is generally known as rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE). Brian T. Collins, MD Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, Missouri