CAPcast from the College of American Pathologists

It’s never too early for pathologists to devote time to develop their leadership skills, according to Dr. Adam L. Booth, the Chief Pathology Resident at University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. He is also a delegate to the AMA, a member of the CAP Digital Content Committee, and a member of the CAP Residents Forum. In this CAPcast, Dr. Booth shares tips for pursuing professional development...

While the clinical use of analytical tests to assess genomic variants in circulating tumor DNA is increasing, there is insufficient evidence of clinical utility and validity for the majority of ctDNA assays in advanced cancer. Recently, representatives from the CAP and the American Society of Clinical Oncology analyzed the current literature on this diagnostic method also known as liquid biopsy. T...

Pathologists need to be knowledgeable and keep pace with the recent advances in cytological classifications to modify the way specimens are processed, reviewed, reported, and managed. Two new cytological classifications, the Paris System for urinary cytology and the Milan System for salivary gland cytology have changed and will continue to change the practice of these challenging sites. In this CA...

Subspecialty signout is becoming increasingly common in surgical pathology. In this CAPcast, Dr. Christa Whitney-Miller, Director of Surgical Pathology at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, talks about what’s driving this change as well as the benefits and drawbacks. Dr. Whitney-Miller will be teaching a course on this topic at CAP18, which will be held Oct. 20-24 in Chicago....

Technical and investigative advances have greatly expanded pathologists’ knowledge in the field of hematology. To help pathologists and laboratorians keep up with these changes, the CAP Press has just released the second edition of the Color Atlas of Hematology, an expanded version of the first with new content focusing on peripheral blood pathology. In this CAPcast, senior editor Dr. Eric Glassy...

Hemostasis/thrombosis is one of the most complex area of laboratory practice. While the impact of preanalytical variables on coagulation testing is well known, it can be difficult to control. In this CAPcast, Dr. Kristi Smock, a pathologist and Medical Director at ARUP Hemostasis/Thrombosis Laboratory in Salt Lake City, Utah, discusses some of the best practices to ensure quality in the preanalyti...

Many pathologists are not only members of CAP, but also other specialty medical organizations as well as the American Medical Association. In this CAPcast, Dr. Jason Scapa, the UCLA Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine’s Chief Resident and Secretary of the CAP Residents Forum Executive Committee, interviews two CAP members, Dr. Nicole Riddle and Dr. Sang Wu, about why and how they are act...

In this CAPcast, Dr. Donald Karcher will discuss how the current political climate is impacting key advocacy issues for pathologists. Dr. Karcher is a Chair of the Pathology Department at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, DC, as well as the Chair of the CAP’s Council on Government and Professional Affairs. He is also a member of the CAP Board of Governors.

Improving blood product utilization not only impacts patient outcomes, it can also yield significant cost savings. In this CAP Case Example, Geisinger Health System’s Medical Director for Transfusion Medicine, Dr. Amanda Haynes, explains how she spearheaded a blood product utilization improvement program that resulted in more than $1 million in savings in 2015. Read more about Geisinger's initiati...

In this CAPcast, Dr. Matt Anderson discusses his work on new methods to sequence the genes encoding human leukocyte antigens, better known as “HLA.” Dr. Anderson is Vice President and Medical Director at the BloodCenter of Wisconsin, an Associate Investigator at the Blood Research Institute, and an Assistant Professor of Pathology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He also currently serves on th...

Legislation to increase transparency and accountability in Medicare’s Local Coverage Determinations is currently pending before Congress. The legislation, which is championed by the CAP and pathologists around the country, continues to gain momentum in both the House and Senate with the total of 44 representatives and 15 senators currently sponsoring the bill. Reforms are necessary to ensure that...

An international consortium of cytopathologists, surgical pathologists, and urologists known as the Paris System Working Group has published a standardized system for urine cytology reporting. This new system was conceived at the 18th International Congress of Cytology in Paris in May 2013. In this CAPcast, consortium member Dr. Daniel Kurtycz and co-editor of the atlas discusses what pathologists...

At the annual Policy Meeting, government leaders and policy experts discuss how major policy and regulatory challenges impact pathologists. In addition, CAP members meet with their representatives and senators in Congress. In this CAPcast interview, Dr. Jared Abbott discusses what he gets out of attending the meeting each year and his experience engaging in advocacy. The 2018 Policy Meeting will b...

It’s critical for pathologists to maintain their clinical pathology expertise, according to Dr. Jon Heusel, Director of Clinical and Translational Genomics and Chief Medical Officer of Genomics and Pathology Services at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. In this CAPcast interview, Dr. Heusel will talk about why maintaining expertise in clinical pathology is so important, and ho...

HistoQIP is a quality assurance program for histopathology, jointly sponsored by the National Society for Histotechnology and the College of American Pathologists. The primary focus of this program is to improve the quality of histologic preparations routinely performed in the histology laboratory through education. In this CAPcast from the College of American Pathologists, pathologist Dr. Matthew...

Because medical training is lacking in financial education, new pathologists are often at a loss when diagnosing their financial health. But the burden of student debt, modest resident salaries, and the societal pressures of ‘‘physician wealth’’ can lead to financial despair, depression, and burnout during training, writes Dr. Anne Mills in an editorial recently published on the Archives of Pathol...

The incidence of HPV-related head and neck carcinomas is rising in the United States, with the greatest increase among middle-aged white men. In fact, more than 95% of oral cancers are squamous cell carcinomas, a type that is most closely linked to high-risk HPV. The urgent need to understand HPV's impact on head and neck cancer patients is driving the need for a new evidence-based clinical practi...

Many—if not most—pathologists come out of training with little or no confidence in their knowledge about blood banking and transfusion medicine. That’s where Dr. Joe Chaffin—also known as the Blood Bank Guy—comes in. Through his Blood Bank Guy podcasts and videos, Dr. Chaffin is focused on educating pathology residents, practicing pathologists, and laboratorians on the basics and common misconcept...

Pathologists can make a solid case for introducing an emerging technology into their laboratory—even one without a reimbursement code—by creating a business plan, according to Dr. Wendy Wells, the chair of pathology and laboratory medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health System in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Dr. Wells spoke about creating such a business plan for ex vivo microscopy earlier this year at...

Nearly 40% of physicians say that fragmented or missing information on pathology reports is a barrier to accurately diagnose and characterize cancer. To improve the consistency and reliability of cancer reporting, the CAP and mTuitive have developed the Electronic Forms and Reporting Module, or eFRM for short. In this CAPcast interview, Dr. Jason Pettus, a pathologist with Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medi...

One of the new frontiers in pathology, in vivo microscopy(IVM) offers new roles and opportunities for pathologists, specifically those who are still in training and those early in their career. In this CAPcast, Dr. Hany Osman, who is currently the first IVM fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, will discuss why IVM is so full of potential for young pathologists. He will also discuss...

The CAP’s recently launched Test Ordering Program offers tools and self-assessment modules to assist pathologists in understanding and improving test utilization, so that the pathologist, in collaboration with clinician colleagues, can improve the value and effectiveness of the wider health care organization. In this CAPcast from the College of American Pathologists, Dr. Ronald Schifman, a patholo...

Physician wellness and burnout is the new epidemic in health. By some estimates, 30% to 68% of physicians are experiencing symptoms of burnout, and it exceeds any other professional group. The ramifications of burnout include a 1 in 4 probability of the physician leaving their work situation in the ensuing three years, not to mention the risk of intemperate drug use or suicide, explained Stanford...

Benign conditions that masquerade as malignancies, and tumors that are prone to be mistaken for other types of cutaneous malignancies are often challenging to new in practice pathologists. In this CAPcast, Dr. Aleodor Andea, Director of the University of Michigan’s Dermatopathology Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, will discuss some of the most common causes of misdiagnosis in dermatopathology and...

The daily challenges of clinical laboratory oversight are mushrooming. Keeping abreast of changes in technology, new and innovative clinical programs for patient care, and new attendant clinical guidelines, compounded by a shifting regulatory landscape, contribute to these challenges. In this CAPcast, pathologist Dr. Robert Dufour will discuss some of these challenges and how some innovative progr...