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Clinical Pathologist
Clinical pathologists work in hospital labs and pathology groups to practice as consultant physicians, developing and applying knowledge of tissue and laboratory analyses to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of individual patients. As scientists, they use the tools of laboratory science in clinical studies, disease models, and other experimental systems, to advance the understanding and treatment of disease.
Clinical pathologists in a pathology group administer a number of visual and microscopic tests and an especially large variety of tests of the biophysical properties of tissue samples involving automated analyzers and cultures. Sometimes the general term “laboratory medicine specialist” is used to refer to those working in clinical pathology, including medical doctors, PhDs and doctors of pharmacology.
According to the world’s largest professional membership organization for clinical pathologists and laboratory professionals, the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), “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 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
Clinical pathologists work in close collaboration with clinical scientists (clinical biochemists, clinical microbiologists, etc.), medical technologists (MTs), clinical laboratory scientists (CLS), hospital administrators, and referring physicians to ensure the accuracy and optimal utilization of laboratory testing.
Clinical pathology is one of the two major divisions of pathology, the other being anatomic pathology. Often, pathologists practice both anatomical and clinical pathology, a combination sometimes known as general pathology.
According to the ASCP, “there are approximately 12,000 board certified pathologists in the U.S. who practice their specialty in community, university, and government hospitals and clinics, in independent laboratories, or in private offices, clinics, and other health care facilities.”
“April 26, 2004 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Pathology gets another plug! CBS television recognized National Medical Laboratory Week with public service announcements (PSAs) featuring CSI: Crime Scene Investigation star William Peterson. The story behind the story is that Peterson asked CBS to cover production costs and broadcast time …
Anatomic Path Trends Portend Deep Changes
CEO SUMMARY: Our biannual review of trends shaping the anatomic pathology profession reveals that a wide range of influences are active. The nation’s healthcare system is undergoing fundamental changes in how it views the quality of health services and how it will favor top-performing p…
Major Events Hit Pathology Profession
ACROSS THE AMERICAN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM, numerous trends tug at pathologists and the laboratory medicine services they provide. Both clinical pathologists and anatomic pathologists find themselves confronted with a growing number of demands for change. Increasingly these demands can no longer be ignore…
Oldest “Working” Pathologist Dies at 104 on March 9
WORKING EIGHT-HOUR DAYS until a few weeks before his death on March 9, pathologist F. William Sunderman, M.D., Ph.D., Sc.D., lived a remarkable life. During his 104-year life, Dr. Sunderman played a key role in founding the Pennsylvania Association of Clinical Pathologists in 1946 a…
Understanding Demographics Of Med Tech Labor Supply
WHILE THERE’S BEEN PLENTY of publicity about the growing shortage of medical technologists (MT) and medical laboratory technicians (MLT), less attention has been paid to the factors which brought about this situation. For example, a careful study of ASCP (American Society of Clinical Patho…
Reactions To FL Court’s Ruling On Clin Path Fees
CEO SUMMARY: Reimbursement for clinical pathology professional services is under attack in a variety of ways throughout the United States. Recently a Florida Court of Appeal added a new court ruling to the growing body of legal decisions on this topic. Careful study of the ruling shows th…
Attack on Clinical Path Professional Payments
MANY PATHOLOGISTS WITH AN ECONOMIC INTEREST in clinical pathology professional component reimbursement have yet to fully appreciate the impact of an unfavorable decision rendered by a Florida appeals court recently. As you will read on page 5, an insurance company in Florida was actively sending let…
Clinical Decision Support System Improves Lab Test Ordering
CEO SUMMARY: Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s “WizOrder” demonstrates that a well-designed clinical decision support system can help physicians make better use of laboratory tests. The early successes of WizOrder demonstrate that the need for improved utilization and applicati…
Tissue Banking May Be Source Of New Pathology Revenues
CEO SUMMARY: Evidence is accumulating that tissue banking may be where the “rubber meets the road;” where pharma money funds technology enhancements that directly benefit the profession of pathology. Without question, the need by pharma, biotech, and genomic companies to access, analy…
“January 15, 2001 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
In Cincinnati, the CHIN (community healthcare information network) effort of the mid-1990s has evolved into HealthBridge, a “secure, private Intranet that provides physician access to hospital clinical records, insurance eligibility, e-mail, and on-line medical reference material.…
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