Digital Pathology Blog

Maybe not much, but it got us thinking. There has been some buzz lately about medical tourism funneling revenues away from US hospitals to overseas providers that offer popular procedures at lower cost.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that up to 750,000 US residents travel abroad to get care each year, while other sources put the number at closer to a million. The most common procedures sought by US residents in other countries include cosmetic surgery, dentistry, and heart surgery. The impetus for this mini-exodus is the hunt for cheaper medical procedures. 

Keith J. Kaplan, MD

                        Carolinas Healthcare System

Charlotte, NC

Imagine, if you will, a left-handed bicycle tire, a right-handed fork or a tumor board without, well, pathology images of the tumor.

Tumor boards are a multi-disciplinary conference where patients (cases) are presented – their clinical history, radiology findings, and pathology findings (whether biopsy or resection material) – are presented to clinicians for discussions on treatment, management, and best patient care.

Richard Wingard

CEO, Euclid Discoveries

Co-founder, Corista

30 years ago, as the University of Kansas implemented the first PACS system, 60% of Radiologists vowed they’d never read anything but film on a white box. Most radiologists predicted a stunning collapse for the new-fangled digital radiology, certain it’d never get off the ground.

It would seem pretty simple. 2^nd Opinions matter.

"Getting the right eyes on the case, is critical. The expert 2nd opinion validates the treatment plan for patients, immediately".

Ira M Klein, MD, MBA, FACP

Aetna, Senior Medical Director for Strategy