CAP TODAY Pathology/Laboratory Medicine/Laboratory Management
CAP value-based toolkits, available as a membership benefit, are designed to be actionable, accessible, concrete, and specific. The billing assessment toolkit is a good place to begin, but the other seven toolkits—on practice self-awareness, market assessment, and annual reports, for example—are essential as well. See if some of your partners will volunteer to read and report back to the group about these practical resources.
Little (if any) of what we need to know to manage our practices effectively is covered in formal medical education. When it comes to the business side, most of us begin at square one. I think we should purposefully elevate the conversation around practice engagement in pathology. Set aside an evening to order in supper with your colleagues and talk about your respective priorities and how you can employ the CAP resources to reach them. The ultimate outcome should be a shared vision for your practice, something we all need to succeed.
Speaking of which, the second edition of Laboratory Administration for Pathologists, edited by Elizabeth A. Wagar, MD, Gene P. Siegal, MD, PhD, Michael B. Cohen, MD, and Donald S. Karcher, MD, is scheduled for release in the spring. I expect it will be one of the most popular selections in the CAP Press catalog, just like the first edition that is sitting, dog-eared, on my shelf.
Dr. Wagar developed the first edition with the late Richard E. Horowitz, MD, and Dr. Siegal; it was based on a popular course that she and Dr. Horowitz had put together when she was a residency program director at the University of California, Los Angeles. Today, Dr. Wagar is one of the most respected authorities in clinical laboratory management, but back then she was “very green,” she says, and when tasked with creating a laboratory management course for which there was no guidance in the literature, she was at a bit of a loss. Then she discovered a wonderful mentor in Dr. Horowitz, a much-admired expert on laboratory management on the private practice side. The two hit it off famously, writing and refining a widely acclaimed regional training program for pathology residents and fellows that eventually grew into this text. It’s a fine read, short on jargon and long on insightful observations directly useful to pathologists.
I saved this topic for the January column because it captures so much of what we have been working toward. When fully integrated into your practices, CAP member benefits can enable efficiencies, economies, and innovations, the potential value of which can far exceed the cost of CAP, AMA, and state pathology and state medical society memberships combined. (Incidentally, that would make this an excellent time to review the status of those memberships.)
While the Council on Membership and Professional Development manages most of our practice support tools and services, many more are dispersed across the CAP, often falling under the Council on Education and the Council on Government and Professional Affairs. There is much more about how all this integrates with our collective goals, especially in terms of learning and advocacy. I had planned to tell you about that, and to include something Dr. Wagar reminded me of: how attention to the human side of laboratory management is a bulwark against burnout. So much to tell, so much to do. Next month, we will explore further.
Dr. Williams welcomes communication from CAP members. Write to him at president@cap.org.