Letters to the Editor
Pathologist Workforce in the United States
Corporate Culture in Decision Making
To the Editor.—I enjoyed reading the article by Dr Stanley J. Robboy and colleagues1 and want to add 2 points not mentioned in this article. The first point is that the American Osteopathic Board of Pathology, AOBP, is also another board-certifying institution and the second point is that DO clinicians also contribute to the pathology workforce.
To the Editor.—Dr Horowitz and his colleagues1 have done us all a great service in dissecting what can be for many of us, a complicated, angstprovoking process. I believe that their sage counsel goes beyond mergers and acquisitions. In one form or another, the questions they pose apply to most business strategic and operational decisions, pathology and otherwise. However, it is not always so easy to get physicians to ask themselves, let alone answer, the questions that the authors pose. I urge readers of this article to dwell on the section entitled ‘‘Assessing the Cultures.’’ 1 In our experience, we find the success with which pathology groups establish a common culture to be the tipping point of strategic planning. Practice cultures must consider the diverse and sometimes conflicting needs of its constituent members. Certainly, the goals, life-
JACK S. MOSKOWITZ, DO Department of Pathology Avita Health System Galion, OH 44833 1. Robboy SJ, Weintraub S, Horvath AE, et al. Pathologists workforce in the United States, I: development of a predictive model to examine factors influencing supply. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2013;137(12):1723–1732.
Dr Moskowitz is on the Board of Governors with the American Osteopathic College of Pathologists.
doi: 10.5858/arpa.2013-0740-LE
Arch Pathol Lab Med—Vol 138, August 2014
styles, and professional requirements of pathologists who are newly in practice, and perhaps single parents, are likely to differ from those of colleagues who are in mid practice and arranging college tuitions or in late practice planning retirement. Yet, groups often force square pegs into round holes by constructing a single practice model to which they require all members to conform. Unless the group establishes a common cultural platform, one that allows for the diverse needs of all its constituents, it may not be able to process into cogent business decisions the data they are laboring so diligently to collect. DAVID A. NOVIS, MD Novis Consulting, LLC Lee, NH 03861 1. Horowitz RE, Provizer H, Barry MJ. How to evaluate a potential merger or acquisition. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2013;137(12):1811–1815.
doi: 10.5858/arpa.2013-0736-LE
Letters to the Editor
999
Pathologist Workforce in the United States
Corporate Culture in Decision Making
To the Editor.—I enjoyed reading the article by Dr Stanley J. Robboy and colleagues1 and want to add 2 points not mentioned in this article. The first point is that the American Osteopathic Board of Pathology, AOBP, is also another board-certifying institution and the second point is that DO clinicians also contribute to the pathology workforce.
To the Editor.—Dr Horowitz and his colleagues1 have done us all a great service in dissecting what can be for many of us, a complicated, angstprovoking process. I believe that their sage counsel goes beyond mergers and acquisitions. In one form or another, the questions they pose apply to most business strategic and operational decisions, pathology and otherwise. However, it is not always so easy to get physicians to ask themselves, let alone answer, the questions that the authors pose. I urge readers of this article to dwell on the section entitled ‘‘Assessing the Cultures.’’ 1 In our experience, we find the success with which pathology groups establish a common culture to be the tipping point of strategic planning. Practice cultures must consider the diverse and sometimes conflicting needs of its constituent members. Certainly, the goals, life-
JACK S. MOSKOWITZ, DO Department of Pathology Avita Health System Galion, OH 44833 1. Robboy SJ, Weintraub S, Horvath AE, et al. Pathologists workforce in the United States, I: development of a predictive model to examine factors influencing supply. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2013;137(12):1723–1732.
Dr Moskowitz is on the Board of Governors with the American Osteopathic College of Pathologists.
doi: 10.5858/arpa.2013-0740-LE
Arch Pathol Lab Med—Vol 138, August 2014
styles, and professional requirements of pathologists who are newly in practice, and perhaps single parents, are likely to differ from those of colleagues who are in mid practice and arranging college tuitions or in late practice planning retirement. Yet, groups often force square pegs into round holes by constructing a single practice model to which they require all members to conform. Unless the group establishes a common cultural platform, one that allows for the diverse needs of all its constituents, it may not be able to process into cogent business decisions the data they are laboring so diligently to collect. DAVID A. NOVIS, MD Novis Consulting, LLC Lee, NH 03861 1. Horowitz RE, Provizer H, Barry MJ. How to evaluate a potential merger or acquisition. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2013;137(12):1811–1815.
doi: 10.5858/arpa.2013-0736-LE
Letters to the Editor
999
