ASCP 2020 Virtual - Delivering a Wealth of Knowledge and Networking Safely and Easily in a Whole New Way

From across America and around the world, ASCP members and nonmembers by the thousands accessed the ASCP 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting, September 9-12. Their quest for knowledge was greeted with a vast array of education on the state of COVID-19, how laboratory testing is changing the way we respond to pandemics, and cutting edge science that participants could immediately apply in their practices and laboratories. With the grace of a symphony, the virtual meeting provided new forms of networking, round table discussions and a lot more.

More than 11,000 guests registered for the Society’s first virtual annual meeting, made necessary because of travel restrictions and other safety measures mandated by a worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Unsurprisingly, a focus on how laboratories across the country were grappling with the impact of COVID-19 took center stage.

During the Opening General Session, participants heard the personal story of actress, singer/songwriter Rita Wilson, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 last spring and spoke about her experience with the virus and the role that the medical laboratory played in her recovery.

CNN journalist Chris Cuomo, son of late New York Governor Mario Cuomo and brother of current New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, also spoke during the General Session about his own experience with the virus earlier this year and why he continued reporting live from the basement of his home each night. Cuomo emphasized the urgent need for a national COVID-19 testing strategy – something that ASCP has strongly recommended be adopted.   

Both Rita Wilson and Chris Cuomo have been very prominent in their efforts to get the word out about the life-saving work that medical laboratory professionals and pathologists have been doing to save patient lives.

Following their session, participants heard from Dr. Shimi Kang, an award-winning physician, researcher and expert on the neuroscience of innovation, leadership, and motivation. She provided very practical solutions for healthcare professionals to manage their own personal health and wellness during while working round the clock to care for patients.  

Noting the critical role that diagnostic testing has played in the COVID-19 pandemic, Gary Procop, MD, MS, MASCP, spoke of lessons learned from the clinical and public health laboratory community during 2020 in his presentation State of the State: The COVID-19 Pandemic (DMT176-20).  

Dr. Procop also explored testing capacity; testing protocols and guidelines; turn-around time; the role of pooled, serology and antigen testing; scarce medical resources; the pathology and laboratory medicine workforce; and the status of efforts at the federal level to provide assistance to states. He also described how the Cleveland Clinic is managing its laboratory operations in order to provide efficient turn-around times and deal with patient demand during this COVID-19 pandemic.

In another session, Examining the Impact of COVID-19 on Pathology: Where We've Been and How to Prepare for the Future (DMT171-20), Gregory N. Sossaman, MD, FASCP, and Alexandra Brown, MD, FASCP, ASCP Chief Officer of Medical Quality, talked about the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and how clinical laboratories, pathologists and medical laboratory professionals can better prepare for the near future.

For members that may have missed these sessions during the virtual annual meeting, they can still access any of them, as well as the entire offering of Annual Meeting education, on demand for free through March 31, 2021 at www.ascp.org/2020. Make sure to claim credit for the sessions upon completing them.

In another announcement at the virtual annual meeting, ASCP President Gene P. Siegal, MD, PhD, FASCP, passed the mantle of leadership to ASCP’s new president, Kimberly Sanford, MD, MASCP.  

Mark your calendars for Oct. 27-29, 2021, and plan to take part in the ASCP 2021 Annual Meeting in Boston!