CAPcast from the College of American Pathologists

In this inaugural CAP Advoacy Recap for the month of August we will review the CAP's opposition to a recent VA initiative, take a look at the 3.5 trillion dollar infratructure bill in congress, and we'll sit down with Dr. Jonathan Myles, chair of the Council on Government and Professional Affairs, to discuss what pathologists need to know about the proposed 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.

This first episode of the CAPCast series celebrating our 75th anniversary features Drs. Paul Bachner and Paul Raslavicus. Serving back-to-back terms, Dr. Bachner was president from 1999 to 2001 and Dr. Raslavicus was president from 2001 to 2003. Throughout this discussion, Drs. Bachner and Raslavicus discuss seminal aspects of their presidency, including navigating their leadership transition duri...

Forty-two percent of physicians reported feeling burned out last year, according to Medscape's 2021 Physician Burnout Report published earlier this year. And not surprisingly, COVID 19 appears to have increased levels of physician burnout. While 69% of physicians said they were somewhat or very happy in 2020 before the pandemic started, this figure fell to 49 percent during the pandemic, according...

Value-based payment models continue to evolve to include considerations for quality of care, cost, and population health through a set of evidence-based metrics. As this shift continues, pathologists are challenged to find quantitative ways to demonstrate their value in newer payment structures. In this CAPcast, we’ll be joined again by Diana Cardona MD, FCAP who will be teaching a course at CAP 2...

It’s September, Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. It’s also a good opportunity to highlight the important role that Cancer Protocols play in patient care. The CAP Cancer Protocols help ensure that all pathology reports contain necessary data elements to improve patient care. By requiring those specific data elements, synoptic reporting ensures more accurate reports that communicate findings in a cle...

Gene-editing technologies have been at the forefront of innovation in precision medicine as investigators look for novel ways to treat otherwise refractory inherited diseases, infectious diseases, and cancer. As these technologies are adopted, pathologists will need to consider implications on laboratory medicine and clinical practice, as it is likely to fall to them to identify the mutations to b...

Advances in therapies for lung adenocarcinoma have arisen from advances in biomarker testing. The biomarker testing landscape is evolving quickly, as is its impact on patient care, and pathologists need to keep up current on the field, explains Jeff Chang, MD, FCAP, in this CAPcast interview. Dr. Chang recently wrote an article on this topic for the Precision Medicine section of CAP.org (https://c...

Like many live events in 2021, the CAP’s Multidisciplinary Breast Pathology (MBP) Advanced Learning Series will be a virtual event (capatholo.gy/3zgIFaW). Taking place over the week of Oct. 25-Oct.31, the curriculum, led by faculty and live expert panels, consists of five pre-recorded lectures in advance of the Virtual Workshop live sessions. The event, which qualifies for 18.5 CME credits, is des...

The three functions of grossing, staging, and reporting are fundamental to the practice of surgical pathology; yet no surgical pathology text has ever discussed these three functions in an integrated manner. A new book entitled Grossing, Staging, and Reporting–An Integrated Manual of Modern Surgical Pathology (https://capatholo.gy/3CDPciq) promotes a standardized approach for practicing pathologis...

Between 2014 and 2018, microbial contamination of blood products was the third leading cause of transfusion-related fatality. Platelets are more likely than other blood products to become contaminated because they are stored at room temperature. In 2019, the FDA updated requirements for bacterial mitigation strategies, which will result in significant changes to how platelets are manufactured, exp...

In a recent panel discussion, CAP Speaker of the House of Delegates Kathryn Knight, MD, FCAP; CAP President Patrick Godbey, MD, FCAP; and Council on Government and Professional Affairs Chair Jonathan Myles, MD, FCAP, talked about the implications of patients who postponed their care because of the pandemic, the potential issues laboratories could face as they return to seek treatment, and what rol...

Common questions arise in the daily practice of surgical pathologists who sign out medical liver, explain Maryam K. Pezhouh, MD, FCAP, and Meredith E. Pittman, MD, FCAP, in the CAPcast. Drs. Pezhouh and Pittman will be teaching a course on this topic at CAP21, which will be held Sept. 25-28 (www.capannualmeeting.org). Using case-based presentations, the faculty will facilitate discussion on a rang...

Burnout adversely affects pathologists’ quality of life and their ability to practice high quality patient care. It can lead to medical errors and increased malpractice risk, professional turnover, and significant morbidity as well as mortality, as Marisa Saint Martin, MD, FCAP, explains in this CAPcast. Dr. Saint Martin will be one of the leaders of a CAP21 course on this topic; the course is ent...

Transitioning from training to new in practice is a very tough phase for many pathologists. Identifying critical skills needed for success and developing them during training can help to ease the move into practice, explains Juanita Evans, MD, FCAP and Lauren King, MD, FCAP in this CAPcast. Drs. Evans and King will be leading a course on this topic at CAP21, which will be held Sept. 25-28 both vir...

Introducing low titer O whole blood or LTOWB into blood bank inventory can introduce challenges, including the logistics of maintaining and optimizing inventory and fulfilling regulatory requirements. That said, LTOWB can serve to improve massive transfusion workflow and potentially improve patient outcomes in patients undergoing massive transfusion, explain Julie Katz Karp, MD, FCAP, and Julie Cr...

Diagnosing soft tissue tumors can be a significant challenge, even to the experienced surgical pathologist. In recent years, the diagnostic options available to diagnose soft tissue tumors have expanded dramatically, following the discovery of molecular alterations that underlie the pathogenesis of soft tissue tumors, explains Jason Hornick, MD, FCAP, in this CAPcast. Dr. Hornick will be teaching...

The numbers speak for themselves. Women represent more than 80% of the workforce but less than 20% of leadership in healthcare. Sadly, the number of women in leadership has not changed significantly in the last two decades, explains Dr. Jennifer Hunt, who will be teaching a CAP21 course entitled, “Reversing the Gender Leadership Gap: Taking Action to Create Meaningful Change.” Dr. Hunt currently s...

The Inaugural Pathologists Leadership Summit took place during the unprecedented circumstances of a global pandemic and for the first this year’s CAP Hill Day was completely virtual. This setting provided some unique challenges, as well as some unexpected benefits. We spoke with Amanda C. Herrmann, MD, FCAP, who recently received the CAP Foundation Development Leadership Award and participated in...

It is never too early or too late to plan the direction of your career and consider your professional legacy. This includes finding meaning and value in your work and relating them to physician engagement and burnout, explains Sarah Bean, MD, FCAP, who is teaching a course on this topic at CAP21, “Setting Career Direction: Using Personal Leadership to Ignite the Flame and Keep It Going.” CAP21 wil...

The incidence of cyberattacks on health care systems is increasing both in the United States and internationally. It has been said that it isn’t a matter of if an institution will be affected by a cyber attack, it is really a matter of when. It is important that pathologists understand the impact of a cyberattack and recognize how to implement operational and risk-mitigation processes in response...

In this CAPcast, Digital Content Committee Chair Michael Misialek, MD, FCAP, leads a discussion about ongoing professional practice evaluation (OPPE) and focused professional practice evaluation (FPPE). The discussion features three fellow CAP members: Brian Le, MD, FCAP, a pathologist with Novant Health in Charlotte, North Carolina; Moira Larsen, MD, FCAP, an Executive Director of MedStar Medical...

While there is a diversity of laboratory information systems available, there is no one system used by bio-banks. Furthermore, there is an increased utilization of digital whole-slide scanning technology in converting slides made from biobanking into digital whole slide images. In this CAPcast, Duke Medical Center pathology resident Dr. Richard Davis interviews leading pathology informatics expert...

As science learns more about the SARS-CoV-2 antibody and related patient testing, the CAP continues to evolve their programs to support laboratory testing, as Drs. Susan Fink and Danyel Tacker explain in this CAPcast. Susan Fink, MD, PhD, FCAP, is an Assistant Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Washington in Seattle. She is also the Assistant Director of the Univer...

In this CAPcast, we’ll speak with Diane Cardona, MD, FCAP, Chair of the Quality and Clinical Data Registry Affairs Committee, about why eligible pathologists should consider MIPS participation as a strategy to help protect revenues as well as a strategy to demonstrate their value instead of seeking a COVID exemption.

In this CAPcast we are joined by Joe Saad, MD, FCAP, vice chair of the Council on Government and Professional Affairs, and Walter Klein, MD, FCAP, who has participated in virtual lobbying meetings with his members of Congress and has attended previous CAP Hill Days. They will get into greater detail and give pathologists tips on how to conduct a virtual meeting with a senator or representative in...