Systems Based Practice

Residents must demonstrate an awareness of, and responsiveness to the larger context and system of health care and the ability to call on system resources to provide pathology services that are of optimal value.

Residents are expected to explain how cytopathology diagnoses affects health care decisions for patients and the health care system. The level of complexity in the explanation should mirror the resident’s professional growth; thus, senior level residents should understand far more than junior level residents about coding, billing, and the resultant costs for patients.
Explain how the types of medical practice and delivery systems differ from one another, including methods of controlling health care costs and allocating resources.
Practice cost-effective health care and resource allocation that does not compromise quality of care, understanding the need for and cost of special stains, immunohistochemistry and other adjunct techniques.
As senior residents be able to explain how to partner with the administrative and technical staff to assess, coordinate, and improve health care and know how these activities can affect system performance
Residents may also inspect the cytopathology laboratory during a CAP inspection.

Evaluation