It's never made sense to me to submit prostate biopsies A-L in separate containers. I'm not an Interventional Radiologist or a Urologist, but when was the last time you saw a Urologic Surgeon remove 1/12 of a prostate? And even for targeted radiation or prostate brachytherapy (radioactive seeds) I would think localizing the neoplasm in a specific quadrant would be sufficient. I've worked in several labs where multiple prostate bxs would be submitted in one container (after agreement by the Clinician and the Pathologist) to save a non-insured patient money.
JW - I've always thought this was for financial gain only... I fussed and fussed at my pathologists because they were being courted by urologists - finally it all fell through, but it just wasn't right for pathology to leave the hospital. Medicare stopped the multiple payments a few years ago tho. In my opinion, this is only the beginning. If the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act kicks in, I think the 15 member Independent Payment Advisory Board is going to be finding A LOT of procedures like this that the government will refuse to pay for. Even if one could make an argument that a procedure is medically sound, these decisions will be made after a cost/benefit analysis. e.g.: Is it beneficial to submit every appendix when the incidence rate of carcinoid tumor of the appendix is 1 in 100,000? (source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1356383/) JW - it does if you're the patient with the carcinoid. Is it worth it to diagnose *Helicobacter *via (highly remunerative) IHC when they can be visualized on an H&E? Especially since there is an inexpensive, simple and safe breath test available. JW - still thinking about this one - if the pathologist is sitting in the courtroom because he/she missed one - it might be. My 2 cents... Joyce Weems Pathology Manager 678-843-7376 Phone 678-843-7831 Fax joyce.we...@emoryhealthcare.org www.saintjosephsatlanta.org 5665 Peachtree Dunwoody Road Atlanta, GA 30342 This e-mail, including any attachments is the property of Saint Joseph's Hospital and is intended for the sole use of the intended recipient(s). It may contain information that is privileged and confidential. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please delete this message, and reply to the sender regarding the error in a separate email. -----Original Message----- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Davide Costanzo Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2012 4:47 PM To: Jay Lundgren Cc: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu; Webster, Thomas S. Subject: Re: [Histonet] The Rise of Physician Owned/Operated Labs (POLs) and future trends Well said! Sent from my iPhone On Oct 30, 2012, at 1:19 PM, Jay Lundgren <jaylundg...@gmail.com> wrote: It's never made sense to me to submit prostate biopsies A-L in separate containers. I'm not an Interventional Radiologist or a Urologist, but when was the last time you saw a Urologic Surgeon remove 1/12 of a prostate? And even for targeted radiation or prostate brachytherapy (radioactive seeds) I would think localizing the neoplasm in a specific quadrant would be sufficient. I've worked in several labs where multiple prostate bxs would be submitted in one container (after agreement by the Clinician and the Pathologist) to save a non-insured patient money. In my opinion, this is only the beginning. If the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act kicks in, I think the 15 member Independent Payment Advisory Board is going to be finding A LOT of procedures like this that the government will refuse to pay for. Even if one could make an argument that a procedure is medically sound, these decisions will be made after a cost/benefit analysis. e.g.: Is it beneficial to submit every appendix when the incidence rate of carcinoid tumor of the appendix is 1 in 100,000? (source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1356383/) Is it worth it to diagnose *Helicobacter *via (highly remunerative) IHC when they can be visualized on an H&E? Especially since there is an inexpensive, simple and safe breath test available. Brace yourselves Histonet, winter is coming. Sincerely, Jay A. Lundgren, M.S., HTL (ASCP) _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet ________________________________ This e-mail message (including any attachments) is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this message (including any attachments) is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please contact the sender by reply e-mail message and destroy all copies of the original message (including attachments). _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet