Introduction
Pathology laboratories in the United States are facing dramatic changes. Balancing the demands for personalized medicine with the quality and economic requirements implemented as part of the Affordable Care Act is a tough challenge even for the most efficient labs. Labs need new solutions to achieve the requirements of greater accountability, quality and efficiencies while lowering costs. Labs are also looking for solutions that will meet the high quality preparation, staining and image analysis of tissue specimens required for many of today’s biomarker tests related to personalized medicine. All of these changes must be addressed in the face of shifting from a fee-forservice structure to a value-based reimbursement model.
Pathology, Inc. is an independent laboratory in Southern California with subspecialties in anatomic and molecular pathology. It has experienced rapid growth over the past few years, but with industrywide cuts in reimbursement, the lab has sought solutions to help maximize its workflow, reduce labor and reagent costs, and still maintain the high quality its clients know and trust.
As part of the answer, Pathology, Inc. chose to consolidate the majority of its histology laboratory instruments and add digital Pathology, Inc – Torrance, California pathology using Leica Biosystems end-to-end solutions. By working with one vendor with whom it can order, install, validate and train, Pathology, Inc. has been able to realize increased workflow efficiencies and significant cost savings:
»» Tissue processing with the PELORIS II has provided 50% labor and 70% reagent savings annually.
»» Utilization of the BOND-III immunoshistochemistry (IHC) stainers has provided combined labor and reagent savings of over $250,000 per year and reduced per slide cost by 50%.
»» The implementation of automated image analysis has reduced pathologist review time for Immunohistochemistry (IHC) slides by 66% (7-10 minutes vs. 30+ minutes).
By consolidating histology instrumentation with one vendor, Pathology, Inc. was able to achieve efficiency and economic benefits through a single source solution. In addition, the lab has maximized workflow, reduced costs while maintaining quality, and ensured rapid turnaround time required for today’s patient results.
Case Study
Pathology, Inc. began providing full service, anatomic and molecular services in Southern California in 1979. Pathology, Inc. has a strong commitment to innovation and value-added services that can provide comprehensive diagnostic and prognostic information for treatment planning. The laboratory’s primary focus is Women’s Health, but it also offers pathology services in other subspecialties. With this breadth of offerings, its histology and IHC departments have seen rapid growth. Approximately 1,000 tissue blocks are processed and 300 IHC stains are performed per day. Like many labs, Pathology, Inc. has been faced with challenges to work more efficiently due to the changes in healthcare delivery and decreasing reimbursement. “Changes over the last year and impending changes next year are resulting in a significant reduction in reimbursement and driving profits down,” noted Dennis Sevilla, PhD, Senior Vice President,Laboratory Operations. “This downward trend will force independent labs like Pathology, Inc. to become more efficient and leaner as consolidation within the industry increases.” As a part of its strategy to meet these challenges and continue to provide high quality services as well as required turnaround times, the laboratory looked for flexible and cost-saving solutions in tissue processing and staining. In addition, the laboratory wanted to initiate digital pathology and image analysis. Hence, Leica Biosystems was the chosen solution provider.>> Download the full Application Note as PDF
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