The Role of the Pathologist in Population Health

Abstract

Context.— As part of its value-based care initiative, the College of American Pathologists has pursued research to better understand the role pathologists can have in population health. Objectives.— To answer the following questions: (1) what is the impact of population health and population health management on pathologists; (2) what roles are pathologists playing in population health management; (3) is population health something that pathologists in both larger and smaller settings can engage in; (4) are pathologists in a position to analyze laboratory data for population health, and, if so, what are the key information sources those pathologists must access; and (5) what steps can a pathologist take to become involved in population health? Design.— We conducted 10 semistructured interviews with pathologists and other medical laboratory leaders who have been active in population health. These interviews were supplemented with a review of the medical literature. Results.— Pathologists have demonstrated that laboratory data can provide unique value-added contributions to improving the health of populations. These contributions are not limited to pathologists in large, integrated settings. However, pathologists need to be proactive to contribute to health systems' population health efforts and may need to both enhance their own skills and the quality of their data to maximize the value of their contributions. Conclusions.— Although not necessarily a definitive summary of the roles that pathologists are playing in population health, this article identifies some of the promising and innovative activities occurring among pathologists and laboratorians.