CAP TODAY Pathology/Laboratory Medicine/Laboratory Management
Patrick Godbey, MD
January 2021—Please join me in a collective sigh of relief: 2020 is finally over. I am glad that awful year is behind us at last and sincerely hope that 2021 will be kinder and gentler to us all.
From my perspective, 2021 is already off to a better start because it gives us a reason to celebrate. In 1946, 140 board-certified pathologists gathered in Chicago on Dec. 12 and 13 and formed the College of American Pathologists. This year is our 75th anniversary.
Dr. Godbey
The CAP’s founding took place during challenging times. Pathologists were justifiably not satisfied with their status in the house of medicine. They felt, correctly so, that neither their financial compensation nor their prestige were what they should be. After all, pathology had just been affirmed to be the practice of medicine by the AMA in 1943. It should be remembered that third-party payers, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield, became a significant factor just before and during World War II and it was often their practice to pay hospitals and not pathologists for our work.
Those problems were pointed out to other national and local organizations with less than acceptable results. Pathologists were frustrated. The need for a separate, different organization was recognized, and a grassroots movement began. The resulting organization would be formed on its own by dedicated pathologists and not by any existing organization. Frank W. Hartman, MD, was one of the leaders. He was extremely instrumental in getting that first meeting together in Chicago and would be the first president of this new society, the College of American Pathologists.
Many of the earliest decisions made by the newly formed CAP continue to influence how we operate today. Some of the first committees established covered clinical laboratory standards and the evaluation of hospital laboratories. Early in its existence the CAP became dedicated to the quality of laboratory practice. Today, the CAP writes the laboratory accreditation standards that promote and ensure quality laboratory practice around the world. It is essential that these standards are written by pathologists, for pathologists, because only we have a deep understanding of what lab quality is and how to make it happen at every level.