| R. Lewis Dark:
Proving that Pathology’s Popular Wisdom Is Wrong
IN THE ANATOMIC PATHOLOGY PROFESSION, THE POPULAR WISDOM is that any
pathology group practice needs one or more hospital contracts as the primary
source of specimens necessary to financially sustain the practice.
Outreach specimens sourced from physicians’ offices then represent a profitable
supplement to the hospital business served by the pathology group.
Three years ago, this popular wisdom was challenged by pathologist
Raman “Ray” Sukumar, M.D., of Dover, Maryland. For reasons described
in our briefing on pages 9-15, Sukumar decided it was time to strike out on
his own. His vision was to build a pathology laboratory in an office building,
create a mobile pathology laboratory in a van, and bring pathology services
directly to the doorstep of physicians’ offices, ambulatory surgery centers,
diagnostic imaging centers, and other outreach clients.
The business outcome to Sukumar’s entrepreneurial effort demonstrates
that it is possible to grow rapidly and make money offering general
pathology services to office-based physicians and other non-hospital
providers. In fact, over the 41 months since opening for business, the volume
of specimens flowing into Sukumar’s general pathology practice
now supports three full-time pathologists!
I consider this to be one of the single most remarkable business stories in the anatomic pathology profession since we launched publication of THE
DARK REPORT in 1995. What Sukumar has accomplished is worthy of study
by any pathologist with ambitions to create a physician-centered, patientfriendly
pathology practice. Sukumar exemplifies all the attributes of a successful
entrepreneur, particularly his willingness to shoulder the financial
and professional risk of building a new pathology business from scratch.
At a time when local pathology is under siege from an ever-increasing number of national labs, specialty test providers, and similar competitors, Sukumar has demonstrated that the business model of an office-based generalist pathology practice can compete locally on equal terms with all competitors. Long-time clients and regular readers of THE DARK REPORT know
we hold the conviction that all healthcare is local and pathology services provided at the point of care are generally best for physicians and patients. Dr.
Sukumar’s entrepreneurial success demonstrates that this statement remains
true and it should be an inspiration to the pathology profession.
New & Stefanelli Launch Anatomic Path Venture
Aurora Diagnostics is the latest company to gain investor backing and start operations
CEO SUMMARY: With little fanfare, Aurora Diagnostics, Inc.
opened for business last summer. It states that it has already
signed acquisition agreements with five different pathology
groups. Former AmeriPath executives James C. New and
Martin J. Stefanelli are leading Aurora Diagnostics. Handling
business development activities for Aurora will be Christopher
Jahnle and Kirk Rebane of Haverford Healthcare Advisors.
Labs Need Response to
Physicians' Use of EMR
Increased use of EMRs in physicians' offices generates new connectivity challenges for labs
CEO SUMMARY: A new trend is emerging in outreach laboratory
IT systems. Labs are linking to the electronic medical
record (EMR) systems in their physician clients’ offices.
Delivering lab results to these systems is already common.
Enabling electronic order entry is the next wave. Clinical labs
and anatomic pathology practices will need to offer effective
"Lab-EMR Gateways" to maintain their competitive position.
Pathologist Builds
General Path Business
From Office Lab
Delivers POC Anatomic Path Services To Doctors
CEO
SUMMARY: Doctors Pathology Services in Delaware is successful for two reasons. First it runs the largest pathology lab in the state. But more important, it runs one of the few successful mobile pathology services anywhere. The Mobile Intraoperative Consultation Service (MICS) allows the pathologist to do pathology work on site at ambulatory surgery centers, physicians’ offices, or
hospitals as needed. The MICS also allows the pathologist to consult with and
market directly to physicians, as well as to meet with patients. It’s a business
model that offers many advantages for entrepreneurial pathologists.
Acute Histotech Shortage Grows Across the USA
Trends in histology point to a widening gap
between supply of labor and demand by labs
CEO
SUMMARY: Pathology laboratories are enjoying
steady increases in specimen volume and revenue as new
molecular assays gain acceptance by clinicians. However,
the supply of histotechnologists is failing to keep pace with
growth in the volume of tissue-based testing. One executive
who places histotechs into laboratories predicts that
competition among labs for skilled histotechs will intensify.
INTELLIGENCE: Late & Latent
COMPETITIVE BID DEMO
APPROACHES, BUT NO
DETAILS FROM CMS TRIPATH’S EARNINGS | 
