Description
April 8, 2026
CDC Infectious Disease Laboratories Test Directory
One Size Fits Nobody: Shifts in Private Practice in 2026
Horror Stories in Pathology Informatics: In Two Places at Once
Avatars for Astronaut Health to Fly on NASA’s Artemis II - NASA Science
Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.
Transcription
What a CDC halt on rabies and pox tests means for labs. Plus, a new webinar pulls no punches about the challenges and rewards of private pathology practice. This is Path News Network Daily Edition from the College of American Pathologists. I'm Nancy Johnson. It's Wednesday, April 8th. The Centers for Disease Control announced last week that it has paused laboratory testing for rabies, monkeypox, and several other infectious diseases. Though the halt may not be permanent, its impact on testing and health surveillance has created uncertainty for labs, especially for those in smaller jurisdictions that rely on CDC testing for these pathogens. Dr. Ben Bradley, vice chair of the CAP's microbiology committee, says that backups are in place. If labs need further support.
The challenge may be if your state public health lab is not running that assay, where do you go? A lot of times the CDC was kind of the next stop on that kind of progression of almost the food chain of where you need to go for your testing. The good news is we do have, you know, consortia of public health labs. APHL is one of these groups where the public health labs can also. also coordinate amongst themselves to kind of figure out where that residual capacity might be for testing if it's no longer available at the CDC.
Dr. Bradley, an assistant professor of pathology at the University of Utah, says it's not uncommon for the CDC to take some lab tests offline due to process improvements or other factors, but testing capacity and surveillance are essential. at a time when some pathogens are circulating beyond their expected levels.
Certainly for something like Mpox, where this is something that's still circulating. It's not in the news like it was back in 2022. But even our own laboratory data, we're still finding cases weekly. So there certainly is a need for this testing. So the idea that, you know, it's... less available, or maybe a lab that's been sending to the CDC is going to have to figure out somewhere else to get that testing done, that probably will cause, you know, a delay in getting these results back to these patients, which is less than ideal.
The CDC has said some virus labs will be reinstated in the coming weeks. These days, making it in private pathology practice can feel more challenging than ever. Growing administrative and compliance requirements, Medicare reimbursement uncertainty, and consolidation in the healthcare industry threaten the viability of independent practices. The numbers tell the story. In 2012, less than 30% of physicians were employed by or affiliated with hospital systems, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office. In 2024, that number had grown to at least 47%. A new CAP webinar on May 12th will explore the realities of private practice with practitioners and leaders who will share their experience starting, sustaining, and growing in private practice. The one-hour seminar will look at financial and regulatory pressures, competitive approaches, emerging technologies, and more. Register to attend at the CAP calendar of events. We all love a good workaround, especially when it comes to tech-related headaches. But in the lab or clinic, a workaround can be risky and even deadly. The latest episode of the CAP's Sippy Connections podcast shares a cautionary tale about a workaround no-no, sharing your badge when you're out. CAP Informatics Committee members Dr. Alexis Carter and Dr. Lauren Miller explore the case of a perfusionist. who was on record as having performed vital point-of-care testing for a patient receiving ECMO, an artificial life support system. Point-of-care testing devices require special training and restricted access. Dr. Miller takes it from here.
So it turns out that not all members of the ECMO team had maintained the required competency training. And on further investigation, it was discovered that the perfusionist who was on vacation had made a photocopy of their hospital badge and taped it to the outside of the instrument prior to leaving. They were part of a team of apomotent perfusionists who cared for patients in the intensive care unit, or the ICU, requiring life-supporting temporary assistance to the heart and lungs.
Oh boy. So I take it that members of the team whose operator competency had expired I heard. used the vacationing perfusionist's badge.
That's exactly right.
Don't miss the discussion about this case and the legal, safety, management, and other ramifications that ensued. Access the episode under podcasts on the CAP homepage or anywhere you get your podcasts. And finally, remember the movie Avatar? Well, the astronauts flying back to Earth today aboard Artemis II are living a... biological version of the movie, minus the tall blue bodies. The mission is carrying chips the size of thumb drives loaded with blood-forming stem and progenitor cells from each astronaut's bone marrow. Bone marrow is one of the most sensitive organs to radiation exposure, and astronauts often experience a loss of bone density in microgravity. Once the chips arrive home, researchers will perform single-cell RNA sequencing to measure how genes changed within individual cells. NASA researchers hope the interstellar effects on the tissue chip samples will give them insights in how to best protect astronauts on future deep space missions. Think of it as another small step toward a giant leap in personalized medicine. That's all for today's Daily Edition. Be sure to check the show notes for more information on today's stories. Watch your inbox for more news like this in the CAP's advocacy newsletter every Tuesday and our weekly edition newsletter on Thursdays. We're back at 5 a.m. Eastern for another episode of The Daily Edition. I'm Nancy Johnson. Have a great day.
Description
April 8, 2026
CDC Infectious Disease Laboratories Test Directory
One Size Fits Nobody: Shifts in Private Practice in 2026
Horror Stories in Pathology Informatics: In Two Places at Once
Avatars for Astronaut Health to Fly on NASA’s Artemis II - NASA Science
Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.
Transcription
What a CDC halt on rabies and pox tests means for labs. Plus, a new webinar pulls no punches about the challenges and rewards of private pathology practice. This is Path News Network Daily Edition from the College of American Pathologists. I'm Nancy Johnson. It's Wednesday, April 8th. The Centers for Disease Control announced last week that it has paused laboratory testing for rabies, monkeypox, and several other infectious diseases. Though the halt may not be permanent, its impact on testing and health surveillance has created uncertainty for labs, especially for those in smaller jurisdictions that rely on CDC testing for these pathogens. Dr. Ben Bradley, vice chair of the CAP's microbiology committee, says that backups are in place. If labs need further support.
The challenge may be if your state public health lab is not running that assay, where do you go? A lot of times the CDC was kind of the next stop on that kind of progression of almost the food chain of where you need to go for your testing. The good news is we do have, you know, consortia of public health labs. APHL is one of these groups where the public health labs can also. also coordinate amongst themselves to kind of figure out where that residual capacity might be for testing if it's no longer available at the CDC.
Dr. Bradley, an assistant professor of pathology at the University of Utah, says it's not uncommon for the CDC to take some lab tests offline due to process improvements or other factors, but testing capacity and surveillance are essential. at a time when some pathogens are circulating beyond their expected levels.
Certainly for something like Mpox, where this is something that's still circulating. It's not in the news like it was back in 2022. But even our own laboratory data, we're still finding cases weekly. So there certainly is a need for this testing. So the idea that, you know, it's... less available, or maybe a lab that's been sending to the CDC is going to have to figure out somewhere else to get that testing done, that probably will cause, you know, a delay in getting these results back to these patients, which is less than ideal.
The CDC has said some virus labs will be reinstated in the coming weeks. These days, making it in private pathology practice can feel more challenging than ever. Growing administrative and compliance requirements, Medicare reimbursement uncertainty, and consolidation in the healthcare industry threaten the viability of independent practices. The numbers tell the story. In 2012, less than 30% of physicians were employed by or affiliated with hospital systems, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office. In 2024, that number had grown to at least 47%. A new CAP webinar on May 12th will explore the realities of private practice with practitioners and leaders who will share their experience starting, sustaining, and growing in private practice. The one-hour seminar will look at financial and regulatory pressures, competitive approaches, emerging technologies, and more. Register to attend at the CAP calendar of events. We all love a good workaround, especially when it comes to tech-related headaches. But in the lab or clinic, a workaround can be risky and even deadly. The latest episode of the CAP's Sippy Connections podcast shares a cautionary tale about a workaround no-no, sharing your badge when you're out. CAP Informatics Committee members Dr. Alexis Carter and Dr. Lauren Miller explore the case of a perfusionist. who was on record as having performed vital point-of-care testing for a patient receiving ECMO, an artificial life support system. Point-of-care testing devices require special training and restricted access. Dr. Miller takes it from here.
So it turns out that not all members of the ECMO team had maintained the required competency training. And on further investigation, it was discovered that the perfusionist who was on vacation had made a photocopy of their hospital badge and taped it to the outside of the instrument prior to leaving. They were part of a team of apomotent perfusionists who cared for patients in the intensive care unit, or the ICU, requiring life-supporting temporary assistance to the heart and lungs.
Oh boy. So I take it that members of the team whose operator competency had expired I heard. used the vacationing perfusionist's badge.
That's exactly right.
Don't miss the discussion about this case and the legal, safety, management, and other ramifications that ensued. Access the episode under podcasts on the CAP homepage or anywhere you get your podcasts. And finally, remember the movie Avatar? Well, the astronauts flying back to Earth today aboard Artemis II are living a... biological version of the movie, minus the tall blue bodies. The mission is carrying chips the size of thumb drives loaded with blood-forming stem and progenitor cells from each astronaut's bone marrow. Bone marrow is one of the most sensitive organs to radiation exposure, and astronauts often experience a loss of bone density in microgravity. Once the chips arrive home, researchers will perform single-cell RNA sequencing to measure how genes changed within individual cells. NASA researchers hope the interstellar effects on the tissue chip samples will give them insights in how to best protect astronauts on future deep space missions. Think of it as another small step toward a giant leap in personalized medicine. That's all for today's Daily Edition. Be sure to check the show notes for more information on today's stories. Watch your inbox for more news like this in the CAP's advocacy newsletter every Tuesday and our weekly edition newsletter on Thursdays. We're back at 5 a.m. Eastern for another episode of The Daily Edition. I'm Nancy Johnson. Have a great day.
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Description
April 8, 2026
CDC Infectious Disease Laboratories Test Directory
One Size Fits Nobody: Shifts in Private Practice in 2026
Horror Stories in Pathology Informatics: In Two Places at Once
Avatars for Astronaut Health to Fly on NASA’s Artemis II - NASA Science
Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.
Transcription
What a CDC halt on rabies and pox tests means for labs. Plus, a new webinar pulls no punches about the challenges and rewards of private pathology practice. This is Path News Network Daily Edition from the College of American Pathologists. I'm Nancy Johnson. It's Wednesday, April 8th. The Centers for Disease Control announced last week that it has paused laboratory testing for rabies, monkeypox, and several other infectious diseases. Though the halt may not be permanent, its impact on testing and health surveillance has created uncertainty for labs, especially for those in smaller jurisdictions that rely on CDC testing for these pathogens. Dr. Ben Bradley, vice chair of the CAP's microbiology committee, says that backups are in place. If labs need further support.
The challenge may be if your state public health lab is not running that assay, where do you go? A lot of times the CDC was kind of the next stop on that kind of progression of almost the food chain of where you need to go for your testing. The good news is we do have, you know, consortia of public health labs. APHL is one of these groups where the public health labs can also. also coordinate amongst themselves to kind of figure out where that residual capacity might be for testing if it's no longer available at the CDC.
Dr. Bradley, an assistant professor of pathology at the University of Utah, says it's not uncommon for the CDC to take some lab tests offline due to process improvements or other factors, but testing capacity and surveillance are essential. at a time when some pathogens are circulating beyond their expected levels.
Certainly for something like Mpox, where this is something that's still circulating. It's not in the news like it was back in 2022. But even our own laboratory data, we're still finding cases weekly. So there certainly is a need for this testing. So the idea that, you know, it's... less available, or maybe a lab that's been sending to the CDC is going to have to figure out somewhere else to get that testing done, that probably will cause, you know, a delay in getting these results back to these patients, which is less than ideal.
The CDC has said some virus labs will be reinstated in the coming weeks. These days, making it in private pathology practice can feel more challenging than ever. Growing administrative and compliance requirements, Medicare reimbursement uncertainty, and consolidation in the healthcare industry threaten the viability of independent practices. The numbers tell the story. In 2012, less than 30% of physicians were employed by or affiliated with hospital systems, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office. In 2024, that number had grown to at least 47%. A new CAP webinar on May 12th will explore the realities of private practice with practitioners and leaders who will share their experience starting, sustaining, and growing in private practice. The one-hour seminar will look at financial and regulatory pressures, competitive approaches, emerging technologies, and more. Register to attend at the CAP calendar of events. We all love a good workaround, especially when it comes to tech-related headaches. But in the lab or clinic, a workaround can be risky and even deadly. The latest episode of the CAP's Sippy Connections podcast shares a cautionary tale about a workaround no-no, sharing your badge when you're out. CAP Informatics Committee members Dr. Alexis Carter and Dr. Lauren Miller explore the case of a perfusionist. who was on record as having performed vital point-of-care testing for a patient receiving ECMO, an artificial life support system. Point-of-care testing devices require special training and restricted access. Dr. Miller takes it from here.
So it turns out that not all members of the ECMO team had maintained the required competency training. And on further investigation, it was discovered that the perfusionist who was on vacation had made a photocopy of their hospital badge and taped it to the outside of the instrument prior to leaving. They were part of a team of apomotent perfusionists who cared for patients in the intensive care unit, or the ICU, requiring life-supporting temporary assistance to the heart and lungs.
Oh boy. So I take it that members of the team whose operator competency had expired I heard. used the vacationing perfusionist's badge.
That's exactly right.
Don't miss the discussion about this case and the legal, safety, management, and other ramifications that ensued. Access the episode under podcasts on the CAP homepage or anywhere you get your podcasts. And finally, remember the movie Avatar? Well, the astronauts flying back to Earth today aboard Artemis II are living a... biological version of the movie, minus the tall blue bodies. The mission is carrying chips the size of thumb drives loaded with blood-forming stem and progenitor cells from each astronaut's bone marrow. Bone marrow is one of the most sensitive organs to radiation exposure, and astronauts often experience a loss of bone density in microgravity. Once the chips arrive home, researchers will perform single-cell RNA sequencing to measure how genes changed within individual cells. NASA researchers hope the interstellar effects on the tissue chip samples will give them insights in how to best protect astronauts on future deep space missions. Think of it as another small step toward a giant leap in personalized medicine. That's all for today's Daily Edition. Be sure to check the show notes for more information on today's stories. Watch your inbox for more news like this in the CAP's advocacy newsletter every Tuesday and our weekly edition newsletter on Thursdays. We're back at 5 a.m. Eastern for another episode of The Daily Edition. I'm Nancy Johnson. Have a great day.
Description
April 8, 2026
CDC Infectious Disease Laboratories Test Directory
One Size Fits Nobody: Shifts in Private Practice in 2026
Horror Stories in Pathology Informatics: In Two Places at Once
Avatars for Astronaut Health to Fly on NASA’s Artemis II - NASA Science
Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.
Transcription
What a CDC halt on rabies and pox tests means for labs. Plus, a new webinar pulls no punches about the challenges and rewards of private pathology practice. This is Path News Network Daily Edition from the College of American Pathologists. I'm Nancy Johnson. It's Wednesday, April 8th. The Centers for Disease Control announced last week that it has paused laboratory testing for rabies, monkeypox, and several other infectious diseases. Though the halt may not be permanent, its impact on testing and health surveillance has created uncertainty for labs, especially for those in smaller jurisdictions that rely on CDC testing for these pathogens. Dr. Ben Bradley, vice chair of the CAP's microbiology committee, says that backups are in place. If labs need further support.
The challenge may be if your state public health lab is not running that assay, where do you go? A lot of times the CDC was kind of the next stop on that kind of progression of almost the food chain of where you need to go for your testing. The good news is we do have, you know, consortia of public health labs. APHL is one of these groups where the public health labs can also. also coordinate amongst themselves to kind of figure out where that residual capacity might be for testing if it's no longer available at the CDC.
Dr. Bradley, an assistant professor of pathology at the University of Utah, says it's not uncommon for the CDC to take some lab tests offline due to process improvements or other factors, but testing capacity and surveillance are essential. at a time when some pathogens are circulating beyond their expected levels.
Certainly for something like Mpox, where this is something that's still circulating. It's not in the news like it was back in 2022. But even our own laboratory data, we're still finding cases weekly. So there certainly is a need for this testing. So the idea that, you know, it's... less available, or maybe a lab that's been sending to the CDC is going to have to figure out somewhere else to get that testing done, that probably will cause, you know, a delay in getting these results back to these patients, which is less than ideal.
The CDC has said some virus labs will be reinstated in the coming weeks. These days, making it in private pathology practice can feel more challenging than ever. Growing administrative and compliance requirements, Medicare reimbursement uncertainty, and consolidation in the healthcare industry threaten the viability of independent practices. The numbers tell the story. In 2012, less than 30% of physicians were employed by or affiliated with hospital systems, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office. In 2024, that number had grown to at least 47%. A new CAP webinar on May 12th will explore the realities of private practice with practitioners and leaders who will share their experience starting, sustaining, and growing in private practice. The one-hour seminar will look at financial and regulatory pressures, competitive approaches, emerging technologies, and more. Register to attend at the CAP calendar of events. We all love a good workaround, especially when it comes to tech-related headaches. But in the lab or clinic, a workaround can be risky and even deadly. The latest episode of the CAP's Sippy Connections podcast shares a cautionary tale about a workaround no-no, sharing your badge when you're out. CAP Informatics Committee members Dr. Alexis Carter and Dr. Lauren Miller explore the case of a perfusionist. who was on record as having performed vital point-of-care testing for a patient receiving ECMO, an artificial life support system. Point-of-care testing devices require special training and restricted access. Dr. Miller takes it from here.
So it turns out that not all members of the ECMO team had maintained the required competency training. And on further investigation, it was discovered that the perfusionist who was on vacation had made a photocopy of their hospital badge and taped it to the outside of the instrument prior to leaving. They were part of a team of apomotent perfusionists who cared for patients in the intensive care unit, or the ICU, requiring life-supporting temporary assistance to the heart and lungs.
Oh boy. So I take it that members of the team whose operator competency had expired I heard. used the vacationing perfusionist's badge.
That's exactly right.
Don't miss the discussion about this case and the legal, safety, management, and other ramifications that ensued. Access the episode under podcasts on the CAP homepage or anywhere you get your podcasts. And finally, remember the movie Avatar? Well, the astronauts flying back to Earth today aboard Artemis II are living a... biological version of the movie, minus the tall blue bodies. The mission is carrying chips the size of thumb drives loaded with blood-forming stem and progenitor cells from each astronaut's bone marrow. Bone marrow is one of the most sensitive organs to radiation exposure, and astronauts often experience a loss of bone density in microgravity. Once the chips arrive home, researchers will perform single-cell RNA sequencing to measure how genes changed within individual cells. NASA researchers hope the interstellar effects on the tissue chip samples will give them insights in how to best protect astronauts on future deep space missions. Think of it as another small step toward a giant leap in personalized medicine. That's all for today's Daily Edition. Be sure to check the show notes for more information on today's stories. Watch your inbox for more news like this in the CAP's advocacy newsletter every Tuesday and our weekly edition newsletter on Thursdays. We're back at 5 a.m. Eastern for another episode of The Daily Edition. I'm Nancy Johnson. Have a great day.
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