Message from the President

posted: August 3, 2022

Fellow Pathologist,

The Washington State Society of Pathologists Board of Directors thanks you for your membership and respectfully invites you to renew your membership for 2022. You may notice that our announcements and offerings have changed. In 2021 we partnered with WJ Weiser to bring needed efficiencies in administration and better opportunities for our membership. We hope that you will take advantage of the many offers WSSP will bring to you in the coming years.

education: WSSP is committed to providing educational resources for our members

• Look for information regarding our upcoming Annual WSSP meeting to be held in Seattle on October 1 at the Women’s University Club downtown. We are planning our first in person meeting since 2019 and are very much looking forward to meeting with members in person. This year’s annual meeting will also include a hybrid option for members unable to travel to Seattle for this event.
• We have partnered with the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Washington School of Medicine to provide seamless access for members to attend the UW Laboratory Medicine Grand Rounds program, either virtually or in person. The UW Laboratory Medicine Grand Rounds provides up-to-date information on laboratory testing for diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring diseases. Members can join our Grand Rounds option and access up to 40 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits (Fall 2022 – Spring 2023). CME credit may be obtained by watching the video recordings of the lectures online. WSSP will ensure that credits are issued to members who participate in CME eligible activities.
• WSSP is planning our next series of informative “Hot Topics” question and answer sessions. These sessions probe topics of critical importance to pathology and the broader health care community.
• WSSP will continue to provide our Challenging Case Conferences, which we anticipate holding both virtually and in-person and online beginning in 2023. These slide-based conferences provide members with up-to-date information on ever-changing diagnostic criteria necessary in our daily clinical practices. Attendance at these conferences will provide 3 category 1 credits [EUP1] for attendees.

advocacy: WSSP provides direct lobbying to Washington state legislative and regulatory bodies on issues important to pathology and laboratory practice

• Throughout 2021 and 2022, WSSP has continued to work with the Washington State Office of Insurance Commissioner, Washington State Medical Association, and the College of American Pathologists as part of the rulemaking and reconciliation process for balance billing given the recent passing of the Federal Bill (No Surprises Act/NSA) in 2020 and the state bill (Balance Billing Protection Act/BBPA) in 2019. WSSP continues to monitor and actively engage legislators, state officers, and professional organizations to ensure that the unique issues around the practice of pathology are understood and taken into consideration. In 2022, WSSP also focused on addressing national legislation that could directly or indirectly impact our members, such as the VALID act, introduced legislation that would impose FDA and CMS oversight on laboratory-developed tests.

Your continued participation in the Washington State Society of Pathologists is essential. Thank you for your membership.

Respectfully,
Suzanne Dintzis MD PhD
President, Chair of Board of Directors