BIDMC Pathology Grand Rounds: Providing Formal Pathology Consults to Patients Key to the Future for the Pathologist as a Clinician

Donald Karcher, MD, FCAP, president of the College of American Pathologists (CAP), and professor and past chair of the Department of Pathology at the George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, DC, presented “Pathology: the future is now”, at the March 21 Pathology Grand Rounds, sponsored by the BIDMC Department of Pathology. He spoke emphatically about pathology’s future, especially about providing expertise to both other physicians and patients. For too long, he noted, pathologists have been perceived as in the background, interacting primarily with other physicians as the “doctor’s doctor” on diagnostic results and rarely visible to patients.

Dr. Karcher has devoted his time at CAP emphasizing that pathologists are also the patient’s doctor. The demand for pathology services has only increased as pathologists are now the driving force on molecular tumor boards and interpret complex genomic data and other sophisticated testing results that directly determine therapies for patients. Some pathologists have already pioneered formal patient-pathologist consultation services, and the response from patients has been very positive.

Providing consults to other physicians and directly to patients is key for pathologists as clinicians, something Michael H. Roehrl, MD, PhD, MBA, Chair of BIDMC Pathology, has been working toward at BIDMC. “As academic pathologists at BIDMC Pathology, we must embrace our role as diagnostic clinicians and direct advocates for our patients. Our expertise in Precision Diagnostics profoundly impacts patient care by providing the most accurate diagnoses and therapy guidance. This is not just an opportunity – it is our responsibility. Building formal pathways here at BIDMC for direct patient-pathologist consultations is an essential evolution for our department.”

After Grand Rounds, Dr. Karcher took time to meet with BIDMC Pathology residents and fellows to discuss the future of healthcare, the power of AI in medicine, and the central role of Pathology as a rapidly transforming clinical specialty.