It’s estimated that over 70 percent of treatment decisions by physicians are based on the results of laboratory diagnostic tests. Montefiore operates one of the busiest clinical pathology services in the nation. In 1997, we established the Pathology Service Line to expedite the delivery of diagnostic testing at Montefiore for our patients across the Montefiore network, which includes hospitals, clinics, doctors’ offices, schools and other community-based healthcare venues.
Over the past twenty years we have standardized services and developed diagnostic assays to meet the needs of both longstanding and new clinical programs—from routine physicals and newborn care to cancer treatment and organ transplants. As a result of these efforts, our pathology professionals have become integrated into healthcare teams across Montefiore’s spectrum of care.
Pathology’s clinical laboratories perform more than 10 million diagnostic tests per year. These assays are carried out in large, sophisticated specialty laboratories based mainly on Montefiore’s Moses Campus; in rapid-response laboratories on our Weiler and Wakefield campuses and affiliated clinical facilities; and at over 200 point-of-care sites. They are conducted by a professional staff of over 50 pathologists and 20 highly trained laboratory administrators who oversee a technical staff of 700 FTEs.
In keeping with the humanistic values and clinical excellence for which Montefiore and Albert Einstein College of Medicine are renowned, our Pathology Department collaborates with clinicians across the Montefiore network and the wider medical community to deliver highly skilled, compassionate healthcare to individuals and families in underserved communities in the Bronx and beyond.
We accomplish this goal via our network of state-of-the-art Anatomic and Clinical Pathology Laboratories based on our Moses, Wakefield, Weiler, Westchester Square and Hutchinson campuses. They represent the following areas of Pathology laboratory medicine:
- Autopsy
- Clinical Chemistry
- Cytogenetics and Genomics
- Clinical Cytology
- Flow Cytometry
- Hematology and Coagulation
- Microbiology
- Molecular Genetics
- Transfusion Medicine and Blood Banking
- Point of Care
- Surgical Pathology
- Virology
Our clinical laboratory professionals focus on optimal test management through:
Comprehensive Test Menu
Our laboratories provide an extensive testing menu that’s continually updated with innovative diagnostic tests. Our laboratory directors and supervisors keep abreast of the latest tests and technologies so that we can provide our clinical colleagues with the information they need to make the best healthcare decisions on behalf of their patients.
Accuracy and Timeliness of Results
Our clinical laboratory teams work hard to maintain strict and extensive regulatory testing standards set forth by accreditation and regulatory agencies such as the College of American Pathologists, the Joint Commission, the New York State Department of Health, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and many others, to ensure that clinicians receive test results they can trust. Our efforts to provide a seamless electronic interface from instrument to electronic medical record enable us to deliver results promptly, allowing clincians to make important healthcare decisions for their patients without unnecessary delays.
Support for Clinicians
Our Pathology Customer Service team helps facilitate the process of laboratory testing for our clinical colleagues. From ordering tests to interpreting test results, Pathology Customer Service is available day and night to help ensure the best possible health outcomes for patients. This operational feature sets us apart from most hospital-based diagnostic laboratories.
Our pathologists and clinical laboratory staff are always available to consult on complicated diagnostic questions, offer additional interpretation of test results, and recommend additional testing, as needed.
The Pathology Service Line: Montefiore Einstein Patholology’s customer service specialists, clinical pathologists and clinical laboratory teams support clinicians during every stage of the diagnostic testing process
Community Outreach
The Pathology Department hosts or actively participates in a number of Montefiore Einstein community outreach programs that enable underserved patient populations to access quality healthcare services. Examples include:
- See, Test & Treat. Funded in part by the College of American Pathologists, this annual event offers free breast and cervical cancer screenings, same-day results and follow-up care to uninsured and underinsured women in the Bronx. Members of our Cytology Laboratory team and Administrative Staff volunteer their time and expertise, along with clinical colleagues from the Departments of Radiology and of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women’s Health.
- Starfish Program. Sponsored by the Montefiore Einstein Department of Medicine, this program targets people from West African communities living in the Bronx who are at risk for developing Hepatitis B. The Pathology Department’s phlebotomy team provides free diagnostic screenings.
- School Outreach. Our Pathology Department offers routine laboratory testing for students in over 30 public schools in the Bronx. Pathology Customer Service professionals interface with school personnel; our couriers pick up specimens daily and transport them to the laboratories for testing.
- ECHO Clinic. Our clinical pathology laboratories provide laboratory testing for un-insured and under-insured patients in the Bronx who receive free healthcare services at Einstein’s medical student-run, community-based health clinic.
- Telepathology. Using internet-based camera systems and virtual whole-slide imaging for examination of both gross and microscopic specimens, our pathologists provide remote/off-site diagnostic consultations on surgical and autopsy specimens with regional pathologists across the Montefiore Health System and with pathologists in other countries.
