Please Join Us!

CSP’s Annual Meeting – December 4-7 in San Francisco

Register Today! Early Bird Pricing Extended to November 4!!

I invite you all to join us in my hometown of San Francisco, December 4-7 for CSP’s 77th Annual Meeting. Dr. Manju Aron and her Education Committee have worked extremely hard to develop an informative and engaging program, no matter your interest, specialty or length of your career.

We have extended the discounted, Early-Bird Pricing until November 4, so please take advantage of this unique opportunity and register today!

CSP’s Annual Meeting will include several new elements, including:

• A special Resident Research Showcase
• A new Annual Awards Dinner, to recognize CSP members’ current and past achievement
• A Plenary Session, featuring a special lecture of interest to all pathologists
• Opportunities for engagement and interaction at the conference and around The City

If you haven’t yet submitted a nomination of one of your colleagues for recognition at the Awards Dinner, I invite you to please do so before the November 1 deadline. Categories include: Volunteer of the Year, Advocate of the Year, MVT – Most Valuable Trainee, Corporate Partner of the Year, CSP Hall of Fame (two).

And, if you would like to attend the first annual CSP Awards Dinner, even if you can’t attend the entire conference, you can register at the link below:

I encourage you to please review the rest of this month’s e-newsletter, which includes updates on Advocacy, Membership and more.

Emily Ann Green, MD

President

California Society of Pathologists

Board of Directors Nominations

The CSP Board of Directors has four active member positions and two resident positions available for nomination. The active member board positions serve a three-year term (2025-2027) and the resident positions serve a one year term. Both terms begin in December 2024 at the annual Board of Directors Planning Meeting held December 7-8, immediately following the CSP Annual Meeting. Deadline for nominations is Friday, November 1 at 5pm.

Please visit the CSP Board Nominations page and submit a self-nomination name with a 125-word supporting statement, describing why you’d like to serve as a member of the board of directors. Deadline for nominations is Friday, November 1 at 5pm.

Membership Renewal Period Launches Nov. 1

November 1 marks the beginning of CSP’s membership renewal period.

On behalf of the CSP Board of Directors, I am pleased to invite you to continue your membership and your engagement within our professional family of practitioners. I am also pleased to inform you of the progress the CSP board and volunteer leaders have made this year to advance the practice of pathology in California and to strengthen our organization:

Led by our new Advocacy and Practice Management Committee, CSP sponsored AB 2107 which facilitates remote viewing of digital pathology slides in California if the designated primary site has a CLIA license. We are the only state to not allow this practice.  Individual pathologists and a group of CSP pathologists visited the state capitol to lobby for the bill.  AB 2107 was unanimously approved in both houses of the Legislature and signed by the Governor this October. CSP is supporting a lawsuit against LACARE to protect the direct payment of the professional component of clinical pathology.  We believe that its outcome will have repercussions for other payors in the state and for reimbursement. The society is raising funds to support this and other potential legal challenges.

The CSP Board of Directors created multiple new committees this year (membership, advocacy and practice management, finance, and corporate partners committees) to more effectively implement our strategic objectives, provide more engagement opportunities for members, and ensure greater oversight of finances and operations. A novel CSP electronic image case (CSPEI) series published on CSP’s Facebook, LinkedIn, X, and Instagram sites engages pathologists through submissions and its editorial process. 

The CSP Education Committee enacted improvements to the Annual Meeting to provide a more meaningful and engaging experience for attendees – a new Resident Research Showcase; a new Awards Dinner to highlight CSP members’ current and past achievement; a Plenary Session to provide a single venue for all attendees to gather and learn.

Dues have increased modestly (for example, regular active membership increased from $295 to $325 for 2025). Dues were unchanged for over 10 years, but our costs have substantially increased due to inflation as have the threats to the practice of pathology.

This year, more academic centers and private practice groups took advantage of group membership discounts. For more information about any membership, please contact CSP’s Membership Manager, Jacob Gray atjgray@amgroup.us. If you have questions about membership and/or CSP in general, please contact me directly at yongwh@hs.uci.edu.

William H. Yong, MD

Secretary-Treasurer; Chair, Membership Committee

California Society of Pathologists

AB 2107 - Next Steps

Now that AB 2107 has been signed into law, per the bill language the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has until July 1, 2025, to consult with the CMS and then determine by the end of next year whether or not pathologists may perform remote review of digital materials, consistent with CMS guidelines.

In early October, myself, along with other members of the Advocacy and Practice Management Committee, met with staff and representatives of our partners at the College of American Pathologists (CAP), to discuss next steps. Senior CAP staff members Barry Ziman and Marie Divine have been instrumental in the success of AB 2107, working with CSP from the beginning and helping us shape the language ensure its passage.

Now, led by CSP lobbyist Ryan Spencer, we continue our work to ensure the intent of AB 2107 is followed through. The staff of the bill’s author, Assemblymember Phil Chen, has already been in contact with CDPH to inquire of its timeline.

CSP will continue to monitor the process, remaining in close contact with the Assemblymember Chen’s office and the CDPH, reporting any progress or information received along the way.

Anne M. Deucher, MD

Chair, Advocacy and Practice Management Committee

California Society of Pathologists