Pathology Trends
Pathology groups face a number of challenging pathology trends in the era of radical healthcare reform.
One of the primary trends is that like clinical laboratories, these businesses are carrying significant and potentially unsustainable levels of unreimbursed services. Although bad debt and uncompensated care in the healthcare industry are not new, they have been increasing at the same time that downward pressure is being applied to pathology reimbursement.
Medical laboratories and pathology groups are also facing enormous levels of change in their clinical, regulatory and financial environments. As the Affordable Care Act is implemented, laboratories see downward pressure on reimbursement at both the federal and payer level, coupled with increased emphasis on efficiency and quality.
Labs and health care providers need to seriously consider moving toward a retail business model. Changes in the health insurance market are now requiring patients to pay more out of pocket, and the perfect storm of bad debt and decreased requirement is pressuring laboratories.
Other pathology trends include:
- Growing emphasis on the continuum of care
- Increasing patient interaction directly with the lab organization
- Mounting demands of interoperability across a proliferation of disparate information technology systems to achieve meaningful use
- Evolving requirements for communication and data sharing with payers, accountable care organizations (ACOs), health information exchanges (HIEs) and other trading partners
Industry observers say that responding to each of these trends requires access to the most complete set of patient data possible. Accurate patient identification and record consolidation is central to achieving these goals.
In addition, labs and pathologists are increasingly urged to add value to the testing services they perform by leveraging information technology. For instance, advanced health information technology can be deployed within clinical labs and pathology groups specifically to meet changing patient expectations, while supporting the needs of client physicians for optimal workflow.
Physician Solutions Gets Venture Capital Funding
CEO SUMMARY: Physician Solutions becomes the second pathology-based physician practice management company to receive venture capital funding. The company is poised to acquire a number of pathology practices in cities throughout the United States. It is another sign that traditional pathol…
Pathology As A Business: Experts Highlight Issues
CEO SUMMARY: A select group of business-minded pathologists broke new ground last week in Scottsdale, Arizona. Candid discussion about the profession’s most sensitive issues provoked a variety of strategies. Among the topics were declining reimbursement, arbitrary contract pricing for A…
AmeriPath Successfully Completes Public Offering
CEO SUMMARY: AmeriPath’s new status as a public company gives it even greater visibility than before. As the first public pathology-based physician practice management firm, AmeriPath has the potential to introduce many innovations into the business organization of pathology services. W…
Scottsdale Pathology Gathering Targets Three “Money Tracks”
THE DARK REPORT’S Private Pathologist Income Symposium in Scottsdale on November 8, 1997 promises to be a uniquely candid, invaluable source of strategies, techniques and knowledge for preserving and enhancing pathologist income. It is restricted only to pathologists and their business …
How AmeriPath Will Alter Pathology Marketplace
CEO SUMMARY: Few pathologists realize how much impact AmeriPath’s business activities will have upon the profession of pathology. Regardless of AmeriPath’s ultimate success or failure, it will bring about irrevocable change to the pathology industry. As the harbinger of such change, A…
Path Income Strategies Subject Of Symposium
CEO SUMMARY: Public discussion of pathology income and compensation has been taboo for a good reason: the reality is one of contract cutbacks and declining reimbursement for pathology services. THE DARK REPORT is inviting a select group of astute pathologists to Scottsdale on November 8 t…
AmeriPath Stock Offering Pulled By Underwriters
CEO SUMMARY: Ameripath planned to go public in March. However, the stock market’s significant decline and further evaluation of the company’s business plan caused Wall Street underwriters to defer issuing the stock. Pathologists are curious as to whether AmeriPath’s “employee” b…
Success Seems Elusive To Pathology Innovators
CEO SUMMARY: Attempts to organize pathology practice management companies encounter resistance and market impediments. Success requires an astute business plan and a sophisticated management team to convince pathologists to abandon proven practice models and affiliate with regional or nat…
AmeriPath’s Strategies For Business Success
CEO SUMMARY: Two fascinating aspects about the AmeriPath story are: 1) the strategy to boost share values; and 2) the strategy to develop profitable pathology revenues. With managed healthcare transforming pathology at an astounding rate, will AmeriPath succeed in both strategies?…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 6 – April 21, 2025
Now that a federal judge has vacated the FDA’s LDT rule, The Dark Report analyzes the judgement and notes the various steps the FDA could take in response. Also, lab testing at pharmacies is proving to be less successful than was once anticipated.
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