Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to report that your Board of Directors has been extremely busy the last couple of months establishing organizational structure to achieve the strategic objectives we identified at our planning session in January AND are making quite a bit of progress advancing several of them, as we discussed at our March 28 meeting.

One such example is the introduction of AB 2107, a CSP sponsored bill that seeks to bring California into conformity with federal law by allowing Pathologists to review digital clinical laboratory materials at a remote location under a primary location’s Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) certificate. This issue was brought to CSP leadership late last year and Dr. Anne Deucher of UCSF and her new Advocacy and Practice Management Committee worked diligently with CSP lobbyist Ryan Spencer to develop appropriate language, find a bill author, gather support, and introduce the bill in February. AB 2107 received its first hearing on April 2 and passed out of the Assembly Business and Professions Committee by a 16-0 vote! See more details in Dr. Deucher’s comments below.

CSP’s Education Committee, chaired by Dr. Manju Aron of USC-Keck, met on April 1 to finalize plans for CSP’s Annual Meeting December 3-7 in San Francisco. Dr. Aron and her colleagues are planning informative, engaging sessions for attendees, including at least one plenary session of keen interest to all attendees and new opportunities for resident engagement, including an interactive poster session. Also new this year will be the first CSP Awards and Recognition Dinner, allowing CSP members the opportunity to recognize outstanding achievements in the field of pathology, past and present.

Under the leadership of CSP Past President, Dr. James Harris and Chad Scribner of Coronis Health, we have established a new Corporate Partners Committee to provide company representatives with the opportunity to advise CSP leadership and staff on issues and activities of interest to our members, practice groups and laboratories and to support CSP’s objectives including growing attendance at our Annual Meeting, enhancing member value and increasing member engagement.

The CSP Membership Committee, under the leadership of CSP Secretary Dr. William Yong of UC Irvine, has already begun enhancing member communications and making initial improvements to the CSP website. In April, Dr. Yong and his committee, in partnership with the board, will contact members who have not yet renewed their membership, encouraging them to do so.

Finally, we have established monthly meetings of an Executive Committee and a Finance Committee to closely monitor our progress in meeting organizational and financial goals. The Executive Committee is comprised of the President, President-Elect, Past President, and the Secretary/Treasurer and, if required, can act on behalf of the Board of Directors in between their quarterly meetings.

The Finance Committee is chaired by Dr. Brent Larson, President Elect and includes Dr. Yong, as Secretary/Treasurer, Dr. Aron, as Education Chair and Dr. Enrique Terrazas, of Quest in his role as an at large board member.

Not only are these committees an effective way to develop and advance CSP’s organizational objectives, they are great opportunities for individual members to become more actively engaged in CSP’s work and cultivate stronger relationships with your peers.

If you or a colleague would like to join one of CSP’s committees, please contact CSP Executive Director, Dave Butler at dbutler@amgroup.us

Emily Ann Green, MD

CSP President

As Dr. Green noted above, CSP sponsored legislation, AB 2107, authored by Assemblymember Phillip Chen, was unanimously approved in its first committee hearing 16-0 with two abstentions. The bill will next be considered on the Assembly Floor by May 24. Dr. Zoltan Laszik, a colleague of mine at UCSF along with CSP lobbyist Ryan Spencer, presented the bill to the Assembly Business and Professions Committee on April 2. I am pleased to express my sincere appreciation to Dr. Zoltan and the members of CSP’s Advocacy and Practice Management Committee for their work shaping the bill language and gathering letters of support, which included the College of American Pathology, the UC Office of the President, the California Clinical Laboratory Association and others. Of some concern, the bill was opposed by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), which represents lab technicians in California. UFCW expressed concern about the potential outsourcing of clinical jobs from California to other states but did commit to working with CSP and our lobbyist to develop amended language to address their concerns. The committee bill analysis can be found here.

I’m also pleased to thank my committee vice-chair, Dr. Chris Wixom of Pacific Rim Pathology, for taking the time to attend the California Medical Association’s (CMA) annual Council on Legislation (COL) in Sacramento on March 15. Dr. Wixom was in attendance to represent CSP in support of AB 2107 and provide input on behalf of CSP on other legislation being considered by CMA to either support or oppose. At our recent Board of Directors meeting, Dr. Wixom remarked that this was a valuable experience and it was indeed important for CSP to be represented at the COL when CMA considers its bill positions.

Finally, Dr. Green will lead a delegation of CSP members at CMA’s annual Legislative Conference in Sacramento on April 10. In the morning and at lunch, CSP members will hear legislative leaders address legislation and other topics that impact California’s physicians and healthcare system and will meet with legislators and staff in support of AB 2107 in the afternoon. This is CSP’s first foray into grassroots advocacy in many years and I am hoping this experience leads to more active engagement by individual CSP members in the legislative process.

Anne Deucher, MD

CSP Advocacy and Practice Management Committee Chair

The Membership Committee has been working with AMG staff to improve social media communications and make adjustments to the website to facilitate member engagement. The committee will work with staff to develop an editorial calendar and coordinate contributors for relevant content on clinical practice, advocacy, practice management and more. Please visit and follow CSP’s social media accounts which can be found here:

Member Retention

We are also working with the committee and the board of directors to contact non-renewed members and remind them to renew their dues. If you have not yet renewed your dues OR if you or a colleague would like to join CSP, please visit https://www.calpath.org/member-portal-login or email Jacob Gray, CSP Membership Manager at jgray@amgroup.us.

Member Recruitment

Did you know that there are over 800 members of the College of American Pathology in the state of California? But did you also know that less than half of these CAP members in California are also members of your state society – the California Society of Pathologists? If CSP is to truly serve as THE voice of pathologists in the state of California – as we are clearly doing with the introduction of AB 2107 – it is essential that we grow our ranks of membership. Adding current CAP members in California as members of CSP will not only strengthen our collective voice in Sacramento but it will also strengthen the financial sustainability of CSP.  Whether CAP members or not, all certified pathologists are very welcome to join CSP!

If you or one of your colleagues is not yet a member of CSP, I strongly urge you to join today. Contact Jacob Gray at jgray@amgroup.us to join or email me to discuss the value of membership at yongwh@hs.uci.edu. 

There are many threats to the quality, safety and fiscal viability of pathology practices. We need your ideas, vision, voice, participation, friendship, and funds to perform the needed advocacy and very expensive legal actions. I’d welcome the chance to share my perspective on the value that my association with CSP has provided to me personally and professionally over the years. We would love to add you to the growing CSP family of pathologists and practice leaders.  

William H. Yong, MD

CSP Secretary/Treasurer; CSP Membership & Communications Committee Chair