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.