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Clinical pathology
Clinical pathology is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the laboratory analysis of bodily fluids, such as blood, urine, and tissue homogenates or extracts using the tools of chemistry, microbiology, hematology and molecular pathology. This specialty requires a medical residency.
Clinical pathologists often direct all of the special divisions of the laboratory, which may include the blood bank, clinical chemistry and biology, toxicology, hematology, immunology and serology, and microbiology. Clinical pathology also involves maintenance of laboratory information systems, research, and quality control.
According to the American Association of Medical Colleges, “The practice of pathology is most often conducted in community hospitals or in academic medical centers, where patient care, diagnostic services, and research go hand in hand. Creation of new knowledge is the lifeblood of pathology and many academic pathologists devote significant time in their career to research.”
The world’s largest professional membership organization for clinical pathologists and laboratory professionals, the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), says, “Pathologists are problem-solvers, fascinated by the process of disease and eager to unlock medical mysteries, like AIDS and diabetes, using the tools of laboratory medicine and its sophisticated instruments and methods. Pathologists make it possible to apply scientific advances to improve the accuracy and efficiency of medical diagnosis and treatment.”
Becoming a pathologist entails one of the lengthiest education and training tracks of all physicians. Requirements include four years of undergraduate study, plus four years of medical school, plus a minimum of four to five years of post-graduate training in pathology residency. The annual salary for clinical pathologists ranges from $183,000 to $360,000.
The American Board of Pathology certifies clinical pathologists, and recognizes the following secondary specialties of clinical pathology:
- Chemical pathology, also called clinical chemistry
- Hematopathology
- Blood banking / transfusion medicine
- Clinical microbiology
- Cytogenetics
- Molecular genetics pathology
Tools of clinical pathology include macroscopic examination, microscopes, microscopical examination, analyzers, centrifuges and cultures.
The ASCP has more than 100,000 members worldwide, and “provides excellence in education, certification and advocacy on behalf of patients, pathologists and laboratory professionals across the globe.”
New CPT Codes Debut for Digital Pathology Services
CEO SUMMARY: New digital pathology CPT codes took effect Jan. 1. Because the new codes are designated as Category III, they are not subject to Medicare and private payer reimbursement yet. Instead, federal health officials will monitor the use of the new codes in 2023 to determine h…
2019’s Top 10 Lab Stories Reveal Major Laboratory Industry Trends
This is an excerpt of a 3,163-word article in the Dec. 16, 2019 issue of THE DARK REPORT (TDR). The full article is available to members of The Dark Intelligence Group. CEO SUMMARY: There was plenty of bad news in 2019 for clinical labs and pathology groups. Yet lurking inside this new…
August 12, 2019 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News
Add eight more laboratories to the list of lab companies whose patient data were breached when the American Medical Collection Agency was hacked. According to HealthITSecurity, in recent weeks, these labs reported breaches of their patient records: Natera …
In New Mexico, Three Collaborators Improve Patient Care, Outcomes
IT’S OFFICIAL! A YEAR-LONG COLLABORATION involving a health insurer, a clinical laboratory, and an analytics company showed that insurers and physicians can use clinically-actionable intelligence developed from medical lab test data to improve patient outcomes. This important accomplishment in patie…
July 22, 2019 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News
Another clinical laboratory company disclosed a major breach of its patients’ protected health information (PHI). On July 15, Clinical Pathology Laboratories (CPL), a division of Sonic Healthcare, issued a press release and disclosed that it estimated as many as 2…
Aetna Ends Payment for Professional Component
CEO SUMMARY: As of Aug. 1, Aetna will stop paying out-of-network pathologists for the professional component review of certain clinical pathology tests. Until now, the health insurer has paid for the professional component when out-of-network labs billed for clinical lab tests using the m…
Aetna, Anthem to Pay Pathology Groups Less
TWO OF THE NATION’S LARGER HEALTH INSURERS—AETNA AND ANTHEM— ARE CUTTING WHAT THEY PAY for the professional component of certain clinical and anatomic pathology codes. In its communications with pathology groups about this policy change, Aetna says it will no longer pay for most clinical laborat…
JAMA Study: 17% Fewer Pathologists Since 2007
CEO SUMMARY: The number of pathologists working in the United States declined by 17.53% from 2007 to 2017, according to recent research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. When adjusted for the U.S. population, the researchers said the workforce of pathologists i…
Fewer Pathologists Means Tighter Market for Jobs
CEO SUMMARY: Pathologists seeking jobs will find that a more competitive job market is pushing salaries up over $300,000 per year on average. In addition, most new jobs come with a hiring bonus and funds for relocation of as much as $12,000 and for continuing medical education of $3,500. …
JAMA Study: Pathology field loses almost 18% Since 2007
This is a synopsis of two articles in the June 10, 2019 issue of THE DARK REPORT (TDR). The full articles are available to members of The Dark Intelligence Group. CEO SUMMARY: The number of professionals working in the pathology field in the United States declined by 17.53% from 2007 t…
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Volume XXXI, No. 5 – April 8, 2024
The fragmentation of consumer markets is reflected in clinical lab services, and The Dark Report examines this trend and how it will impact labs in the coming years. Also, The Dark Report notes that the FDA has issued a controversial memo to reclassify many high-risk IVD assays.
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