ASCP’s Pathology Clinic Certificate Program Empowers Patients and Pathologists

Almost 10 years ago, Lija Joseph, MD, FASCP, FACP, chief of pathology at Lowell General Hospital in Lowell, MA, read a news story about a lung cancer patient who wanted to see what her cancer looked like under a microscope but didn’t know where to go. Joseph says this patient, who lived in Lowell, turned to social media for recommendations and drove 20 miles away to Newton, MA, to meet with a pathologist. 

“When I read this story, I said, ‘I'm here, patient is here! If the patient needs access to their pathology report or they want to just discuss what pathology is about, they should just come to Lowell. We should provide the care in the community,” Dr. Joseph says. 

Reading about that patient’s journey prompted Dr. Joseph to conceptualize the pathology clinic program in her own organization—a place where patients can come sit at a microscope, visualize their disease, and ask an expert the questions that help them feel more in control of their situation. In 2017, the clinic Dr. Joseph helped launch saw its first patient, and she has seen, firsthand, the powerful role pathologists can play in the treatment of a serious illness. 

“For example, some patients want to take a photograph of the biopsy that they can keep next to their medication. When they take their medication, they imagine the tumor melting away. There are many reasons why they come, but the consistent story from every single one of them is that knowledge is power,” Dr. Joseph says. 

A roadmap for pathology clinic expansion 
Now, Dr. Joseph is helping other organizations launch clinics like hers through her work on ASCP’s on-demand, seven-module certificate program that teaches others how to establish and integrate patient-facing clinics. This program, Pathology Clinics: Design, Delivery & Impact, which launched in 2025, provides practical guidance, case examples, and patient testimonials to demonstrate how pathology clinics enhance communication, improve outcomes, and give patients a better understanding of their diagnoses. Participants earn 11 CME credits and a certificate of completion while learning a complete step-by-step process for implementing pathology clinics at their own institutions.  

Dr. Joseph recognizes the prospect of opening a pathology clinic can be daunting, but ASCP’s certificate program provides a roadmap for every step of opening a clinic, from how to greet patients when they walk into a clinic, how to pitch the concept to the C-suite, which CPT and E&M codes to use for billing, and how to have difficult—often emotional—conversations with patients. 

Pathology clinics fulfill clinical, professional, and emotional needs 
While these clinics are undeniably beneficial to the patients they serve, they also help elevate the pathology profession. Dr. Joseph says while pathologists have done “curbside” consultations with patients and family members for years, their work isn’t always visible. What’s more, establishing clinics enables pathologists to engage with patients in meaningful ways. According to Dr. Joseph, research has found that 85 percent of pathologists want more interaction with patients. She’s found that spending time with patients in the clinic setting has an enormous professional and emotional impact on the pathologists she works with. In her practice, 95 percent of a pathologists’ time is spent on typical tasks, while 5 percent of their time is spent consulting with patients who’ve made clinic appointments. 

“But it's a 5 percent of quality time that we wouldn't trade for anything else,” Dr. Joseph says “It helps us find meaning in the work that we do. We directly encounter the people that we are touching every day, and it really prevents burnout.”