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In today’s digital world, electronic health records (EHRs) are an extension of what we expect in our everyday lives: information readily available at our fingertips. No longer do patients need to call the doctor’s office to double check the bloodwork or biopsy results they forgot to jot down during their appointments. That information is easily accessible in one location online, with the EHR serving as a central repository for all patient encounters with primary care physicians, specialists, nurses, lab technicians, and other clinicians.

Beyond empowering patients to take control of their health, a well-managed EHR system offers plenty of benefits for physicians, staff, and hospitals, including better efficiency, improved patient outcomes, and cost savings.

During the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2019, many hospitals and labs rushed to upgrade their computers to Windows 10. Why? Because Microsoft was about to stop supporting security updates and no one wants to be on the Health and Human Services’ naughty list. 

In late 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final 2020 Quality Payment Program (QPP) regulation for year four of the program. The College of American Pathologists successfully advocated to protect the pathology-specific quality measures in the QPP, as well as reducing the burden of the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).

Philips and Paige Team Up to Provide AI to Pathology Labs

Royal Philips, a leader in health technology, and Paige, a leader in computational pathology, announced a strategic collaboration in December to deliver clinical-grade artificial intelligence (AI) applications to pathology laboratories. These AI technologies, starting with Paige Prostate, aim to help pathologists identify, quantify, and characterize cancer in tissue samples and make precise diagnoses more efficiently. This may, ultimately, positively impact pathologists' workflow and treatment planning for patients.

For most patients, the pathology lab is a bit of a mystery. Patients can develop good relationships with their doctors or surgeons by meeting face-to-face, but the pathologist often has a “Wizard of Oz” quality… that person behind the curtain who delivers a verdict on a patient’s disease and sets in motion the next steps of treatment. Rarely do pathologists get to meet the people they have dedicated their careers to helping.

As patients increasingly seek to become better advocates for their own health and ask questions of their healthcare providers, some are sure to wonder about the elusive “wizard” in the lab, wanting to learn more about the “pathologist behind the curtain.”