Second opinion consults

Maybe you would like input from an experienced colleague regarding an occasional challenging case. Maybe you would like confirmation of your high-stakes diagnoses to sleep well at night. Maybe your organization wants to establish a formal relationship with an expert. Maybe it is not worth your time to research obscure diagnoses. Whatever the reason, you want to have a relationship with consultant you can trust. We do not have all the answers but solving similar problems over and over again gives us an advantage.

Short-term coverage

Maybe you are in a solo practice and want to take time off. Maybe your lab is occasionally understaffed and cannot handle the volume. Maybe you expect growth in the business but not enough to justify hiring another pathologist. Whatever the reason for your staffing shortage, we can help your organization to get trough.

Practice support

Maybe you want to reassure your clients that your lab is backed by world-class experts. Maybe you would like to offer CME lectures for you prospective clients to grow your lab’s reputation. Maybe your organization needs professional leadership and advise. Whatever the reason, we can help your practice to grow by becoming your colleagues.

Dermatopathology consultations for biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry

Yes, we can help.

We do not do medico-legal work

Services

We provide 5000 to 6000 consultations a year for pathologists in the areas of dermatopathology, as well as ophthalmic, head and neck, and oral pathology. Our lab can also provide coverage for routine cases.

Our practice is unique in many aspects. In contrast to academic centers and commercial laboratories, supporting outside pathology groups is our sole goal and focus. We do not compete with our clients in their markets as we do not provide primary pathology services. We developed a proprietary website which streamlines the entire consultation process, dramatically reducing costs and turn-around time. The slides are still sent in by a courier mail service but the workflow is paperless. (see Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine).

Our low cost structure and rapid turn-around time allow our clients use us as de facto part-time dermatopathologists, head and neck or ocular pathologists affiliated with their organizations. To support this function we offer flexible subscription-based billing arrangements. We helped our clients to successfully promote their services in their communities and increase the volume of their dermatopathology business. With our help pathology groups were able to retain dermatopathology business without hiring a full-time dermatopathologist. In some cases, we became members of our clients' medical groups and are featured on their websites. We can also provide vacation coverage.

If available, special stains and immunohistochemical procedures that we request are performed at our client's laboratories and billed by them. However, we can also make give our clients access to the most advanced ancillary diagnostic tests such as FISH or next gene sequencing.

We are happy to take telephone calls from our clients' clinicians about the cases that we report. Thus, we do much more for our clients than simply providing consultation reports.

Workflow

Our proprietary workflow solution is custom-designed to support the entire consultative process and reduce costs. Our service offers a cost-effective alternative to hiring a full-time or part-time dermatopathologist. Key features include:

  • secure password-protected access for designated pathologists and support staff

  • flexibility to adjust to different workflows in our partner laboratories

  • option of entirely electronic communication (submission of cases, transcription, verification)

  • instant email alerts when the opinion is rendered

  • paperless and type free transcription

  • management of materials sent and received

  • all slides returned within a week after consultation

To submit cases, staff enter the patient information and details of materials sent. A list of the materials can be printed locally for record-keeping. When the slides arrive at our office, the accessioning process can be completed within minutes. Immediately after our report is issued, the submitting pathologist and staff receive emails alerting them that the case is available for viewing. The staff can print the report locally. The report can be cut and pasted directly from the website and inserted into outside reports. The submitting pathologist, can verify accuracy of transcription online, regardless of where his or her office is located. At weekly intervals, all received materials are sent back.

If you are a patient

If you are a patient and would like to obtain a second opinion consultation, please discuss this idea with your clinician. Your health care provider will be in the best position to advise you weather a second opinion consultation is advisable. Most pathology diagnoses are straightforward. A second opinion consultation by an expert may be advisable if there is controversy as to the best diagnosis, staging or management. The consultations have to be submitted by and are reported to a health care provider. Please note that we cannot bill your insurance and you may be responsible for the cost of the consultation if your request it.

If you are a pharma, biotech or CRO company

We can help to design and execute your research studies with pathology end points.