Title: Strategic approach to building an advanced laboratory diagnostics program: The Brigham and Women's Hospital experience

Biography:

Milenko Tanasijevic is the Vice Chair for clinical pathology and quality of the pathology department of the Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), the director of the BWH clinical laboratories and an Associate Professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School. He oversees operations, quality and regulatory affairs for over forty licensed laboratory sites performing more than 6 MM tests annually. He research as part of the TIMI clinical trial group contributed to the worldwide adoption of cardiac troponins and prompted their inclusion in the redefinition of acute myocardial infarction by the European Society of Cardiology and the American College of Cardiology.  He also conducted research in computerized clinical decision support for laboratory services. He authored more than 75 peer-reviewed publications. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the clinics in laboratory medicine. He co-founded cell imaging systems inc. and co-invented the technology that served as the basis for building the world's first hematology instrument that integrates digital morphology, cell counting and classification into a single instrument. 

Abstract

Introduction of advanced diagnostics modalities has become an imperative for many hospital -based laboratories in the era of precision medicine. Yet, building a robust advanced laboratory diagnostics program poses significant challenges from the perspective of ensuring adequate human resources, access to technology and appropriate space. In this workshop, I will share our experience with strategic planning and implementation of key laboratory diagnostic initiatives such as advanced molecular diagnostics, histocompatibility, LC/MS, molecular microbiology and total laboratory automation. I will describe several frameworks for competitive positioning for modern diagnostic laboratories and describe some of the key factors for their ongoing success and sustainability. Finally, I will go over some important financial and regulatory challenges confronting clinical pathology programs.