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Pathology group
A pathology group is an organization of clinical pathologists working on the diagnosis of disease based on laboratory analysis of bodily fluids such as blood and urine, as well as tissues, using the tools of chemistry, clinical microbiology, hematology and molecular pathology. Clinical pathologists work in close collaboration with medical technologists, hospital administrations, and referring physicians.
The business model of a pathology group has traditionally been as a private group practice, including solo practitioner, medical group partnership, professional corporation (PC), limited liability company (LLC), and similar professional business organizations. It is common for pathology groups to have contracts with one or more hospitals to provide anatomic pathology professional services and clinical pathology professional services.
Pathology itself is a significant component of the causal study of disease and a major field in modern medicine and diagnosis. The term pathology may be used broadly to refer to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of bioscience research fields and medical practices, or more narrowly to describe work within the contemporary medical field of “general pathology,” which includes a number of distinct but inter-related medical specialties which diagnose disease mostly through the analysis of tissue, cell, and body fluid samples.
Pathologists in hospital labs and pathology groups 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.
Immunopathology, the study of an organism’s immune response to infection, is sometimes considered to fall within the domain of clinical pathology.
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.
At Mid-Year, Labs Struggle to Get Paid for Many Tests
CEO SUMMARY: At a recent coding and billing conference, pathology and lab clients of one of the nation’s largest revenue management companies agreed that three trends have caused lower revenues since the start of 2014. One trend seen by labs involves higher deductibles and copayments fr…
July 21, 2014 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Consolidation of private pathology group practices continues. On July 8, NeoGenomics of Fort Myers, Florida, announced that it had acquired Path Logic of Sacramento. Then, one day later, Incyte Diagnostics of Spokane, Washington, disclosed that it wa…
Aurora Diagnostics Acquires Two Pathology Group Practices
TWO MORE PATHOLOGY GROUPS gave up their independence in recent weeks. Both groups were acquired byAurora Diagnostics of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Early in June, Aurora announced the acquisition of Mid-Atlantic Pathology Services, Inc. (MAPS), of Sterling, Virgini…
Partners Consolidates AP Using Common IT System
CEO SUMMARY: Partners HealthCare of Boston, Massachusetts, is creating a single informatics platform for CP and AP across all six of the hospitals that it operates. It will replace 19 different pathology systems currently used at six sites with just seven integrated pathology systems. As …
Futurist Predicts Less Margin, More Consolidation in Market
CEO SUMMARY: Based on interviews with 40 CEOs of major healthcare companies, one expert says that the next three years will bring major changes to healthcare. In his presentation at the Executive War College, Ted Schwab noted that these changes include a swift adoption of budgeted care (a…
Local Labs vs. Central Labs Assessed in HER2 Test Study
WHEN IT COMES TO HER2NEU TESTING, a study of accuracy just published by the journal Cancer may raise interesting questions for pathology groups across the nation. “Assessing the discordance rate between local and central HER2 testing in women with locally determined HER2- negative breast …
Community Labs Arrive at a Crossroads
TODAY, COMMUNITY LABORATORIES ARE FACING THEIR TOUGHEST TIMES EVER. My definition of a community lab includes independent clinical lab companies, hospital lab outreach programs, and pathology groups serving community hospitals. Never before have community laboratories had to deal with so many discre…
Speakers in New Orleans Offer Important Insights
CEO SUMMARY: In coming years, there will be multiple challenges and opportunities for the nation’s clinical laboratories and pathology groups. That was one common theme heard from the 90 speakers and panelists at the 19th annual Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Manageme…
Pathology Consolidation Underway in Washington
CEO SUMMARY: Two regional pathology super-practices have emerged in Washington State. In each case, acquisitions and mergers are fueling the growth of the two large pathology groups. In Western Washington and the Seattle metro, CellNetix is the dominant pathology group, with 53 physicians…
New Skills Needed for Difficult Lab Job Market
CEO SUMMARY: Across the nation, a small but growing number of pathologists and lab directors has begun to engage career coaches and management recruiters specifically to sharpen their interviewing and career development skills, even though they are still employed. One expert says this tre…
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