Digital Pathology Blog

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Posted by Keith Kaplan, MD, Chief Medical Officer 01/03/2023

What Will Our Legacy Be?

My maternal grandfather was a glazier. He was orphaned at a young age and raised in an orphanage on the West side of Chicago with 2 brothers. One of those brothers died during adolescence. My grandfather and his oldest brother fought in World War II and became part of America’s Greatest Generation. He and his brother started Chicago Glass which became the largest glazier company in the city. For over 30 years, my grandfather hung glass on some of the tallest buildings in the world at the time. Sears Tower, John Hancock, Lake Point Tower, Standard Oil, you name it, he worked on it. Buildings downtown had to be “glassed in” by November 15 if the electricians, plumbers, elevator, drywall and carpet guys were to have a chance to work through the winter for spring occupancy on a residential or commercial high rise. In the winters, my grandfather drove a cab between “indoor” jobs such as hanging mirrors, repairing windows or building storm windows. He would drive me around in his large Checker cab and point out what buildings he worked on and what he did, what worked and what didn’t, if he got injured, or one of his men did, and when they “glassed” it in.

Topics: Digital Pathology, Healthcare, Pathology, Management

Posted by Keith Kaplan, MD, Chief Medical Officer 05/10/2022

The Tumor Board, Virtually

There is a joke among surgeons and oncologists -- the pathologist at a tumor board is like the guy whose funeral that you are attending; you can't do it without him, but you don't want him saying too much. 

Nearly 2 years ago, our tumor boards went "virtual". Like billions around the world, we scrambled to get Zoom, GoToMeeting, WebEx and other applications up and running to hear each other’s voices and share screens to show radiology and pathology images. We anticipated that by the Summer or Fall we would be back to "normal".

Topics: Digital Pathology, Healthcare, Studies/Reports, Telemedicine, Pathology

Posted by Keith Kaplan, MD, Chief Medical Officer 11/02/2021

What Does the Gene Panel Show?

Recently I received a call from an oncologist. After giving me the patient’s name, she asked “What does the gene panel show?”

I responded we didn’t have the patient’s biopsy yet, that he was scheduled to undergo a CT-guided needle core biopsy, and we would process it overnight and review tomorrow as we normally do.

The oncologist acknowledged the patient was undergoing the biopsy in the afternoon, and we hadn’t even yet done an immediate fine needle aspiration rapid on-site assessment prior to the core biopsy.

Topics: Digital Pathology, Healthcare, Pathology

Posted by Keith Kaplan, MD, Chief Medical Officer 02/27/2018

Will Misters Bezos, Buffett and Dimon Fix Healthcare?

Late last month, the CEOs of Amazon, Buffett and JPMorgan Chase announced they were teaming up to form an independent healthcare company for their employees.

The details were scant and vague but mentioned the new corporation would be “free from profit-making incentives and constraints”. Mr. Buffett is quoted as saying, “The ballooning costs of health care act as a hungry tapeworm on the American economy… Our group does not come to this problem with answers. But we also do not accept it as inevitable.”

Probably not the best analogy considering tapeworms are easily treated with oral generic medications that are very low cost.

Topics: Healthcare, Studies/Reports, News

Posted by Keith Kaplan, MD, Chief Medical Officer 04/11/2017

Who has the most important job at Starbucks?


I’ve spent a lot of time in Starbucks, and over the years, it seems little has really changed with the basic operations. The line to the register is flanked by food options and souvenirs leading to someone who takes your order and your money (The Register). Your order moves to someone standing at the espresso machine (On Bar). Other Starbucks associates are simultaneously working the Drive-Thru customers (On Drive-Thru).

Another associate is grinding beans, ensuring the coffee urns are full, teas are brewed, cups, lids and cup protectors are in place, and coolers are well stocked with sandwiches, croissants and breakfast sandwiches (Customer Support).

So, who has the most important job at Starbucks? The Register? On Bar? On Drive-Thru? Customer Support?

Topics: Healthcare, Pathology, Management

Posted by Keith Kaplan, MD, Chief Medical Officer 10/07/2014

The Digitization and Democratization of Healthcare

Two weeks ago, healthcare news headlines and Twitter made hundreds of thousands of references to Dr. Eric Topol’s keynote address at the 8th Annual Health 2.0 conference. For a review of Dr. Topol’s thoughts and comments, click here.  

Topics: Digital Pathology, Healthcare

Posted by Keith Kaplan, MD, Chief Medical Officer 08/26/2014

Why Are More Physicians Choosing Startups?

Some time ago I came across some videos and a TED talk by Dr. Zubin Damania aka ZDoggMD. Born of Indian parents, educated at the finest colleges, medical schools and residencies, he felt his career had hit a wall. He felt he wasn’t making the impact he’d planned to when he first entered the medical field as a physician. So Dr. Damania transformed himself into an entrepreneur, motivational speaker and social media cult figure.

Topics: Digital Pathology, Healthcare, Startups

Posted by Elizabeth Wingard 03/13/2014

The Healthcare Revolution in 2014 is Not Just About Payment Models

This is a fascinating time to be part of the healthcare industry. There is a revolution happening in how providers are looking at patients, looking at costs, looking at technologies, looking at…everything. The major driver of the revolution is, of course, changes to reimbursement models driven by the Accountable Care Act (ACA). The death knell is sounding loudly across the U.S. for the Fee-for-Service (FFS) payment model that the government and other payers have used to reimburse healthcare providers for decades.

Topics: Healthcare