Hospital Pathologist & Lab Services

A pathologist is a medical doctor that specialized in diseases and how it affects tissues and fluids in the human body. The Pathology Group (TPG) is an all-inclusive pathology practice based in Grand Junction, Colorado that performs and interprets clinical laboratory tests and also analyzes tissue samples and fluids for disease processes such as cancer, benign tumors, infections and immune disorders. TPG is the provider for pathology services for Community Hospital and the Grand Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center. We provide not only general pathology and laboratory services but also have the only two subspecialty board certified pathologists in Western Colorado which includes Dean Havlik, MD (subspecialty certification in forensic pathology) and Katherine Phillips, MD (subspecialty certification in cytopathology).

Laboratory direction is one of the many important fields of services provided by TPG. Dr. Havlik is the laboratory director for the College American Pathologists accredited laboratory at Community Hospital and Dr. Phillips is the laboratory director for the full service laboratory at the Grand Junction Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center. Drs. Havlik and Phillips have hospital privileges at both hospitals. The pathologists and staff at TPG pride themselves on always being available to the physicians and their office staff. Pathologists have long been considered the “doctor’s doctor” and with this mission we are here to serve the physicians and help manage their patient’s laboratory and pathology needs. We are able to accommodate and diagnose essentially any biopsy, large tissue specimen or body fluid specimen. We have a fast turnaround time with the majority of specimens having the diagnosis completed within 24 hours from the time of receipt into our laboratory.

Hospital Pathologist | Services | Grand Junction, CO

Insurance

In-Network Provider for the following companies

• Aetna
• Anthem BCBS
• Colorado State Medicaid
• Medicare
• Rocky Mountain Health Plans
• United HealthCare
• UMR (United Medical Resources)
• Worker’s Compensation (multiple plans)

*The Pathology Group is happy to bill any health insurance company on behalf of our patients. However, we have no control over how those claims are processed and are under no contractual obligation to accept their offered payment as full payment of the claim.

**Patients who participate in HealthShare programs are considered self-pay patients. We are happy to provide billing information for the patient to submit their claim to their HealthShare for direct reimbursement to the patient.

Hospital Pathology Frequently Asked Questions

What is pathology and what is a pathologist?

Pathology is the study of disease in tissues and body fluids. A pathologist is a medical doctor that after medical school does specialty residency training in pathology. A pathologist is considered an expert in how disease affects human tissues and body fluids. They are the doctors that interpret tissue and fluid specimens to determine if they represent cancer or other disease processes such as infection, immune disorders or other benign diseases. A pathologist also often directs laboratories, most commonly hospital laboratories, and are considered experts in managing and interpreting laboratory results.

How does one become a pathologist?

Just like with any medical doctor, after receiving an undergraduate degree from a university or college, a pathologist must attend medical school and earn their medical degree. Pathology is a specialty that one does a residency for after medical school. The pathology residency is typically 4 to 5 years and included intense study in both laboratory medicine (clinical laboratory tests) and anatomic pathology (tissue and body fluid diagnosis). After the successful completion of the residency program, board certification becomes important which involves an examination that must be passed. Most hospitals and private groups require board certification in order to be on staff. Some pathologists pursue subspecialty certification. There are several subspecialty programs including forensic pathology, cytopathology, dermatopathology, neuropathology, transfusion medicine and hematopathology.

Where does a pathologist work?

Often a pathologist will either be an employee of a hospital or operate under a private practice setting. The private practice pathologist has contracts with hospitals and other health care facilities in order to provide lab director services and/or serve as their anatomic pathology resource. Certain subspecialty pathologists may work in different environments. For example, forensic pathologists often work as government employees in a medical examiner setting and some transfusion medicine pathologists will work for blood banking organizations.

Why do I get a bill from both the pathology office and the hospital?

Like many pathology practices, The Pathology Group has a contract with hospitals. The hospital provides the “technical” component of the procedure which means employees of the hospital prepare the tissue or body fluid to be examined by the pathologists for the interpretation. For example, if a skin biopsy is performed at a doctor’s office and the biopsy is sent to the hospital and TPG for preparation and interpretation, the hospital will prepare that tissue sample to be put on glass slides and the pathologist will then interpret those slides under the microscope in order to determine if the tissue removed represents cancer or some other disease process. This will ultimately generate two bills, one from the hospital for the preparation (the “technical component”) and the other from The Pathology Group for the interpretation (the “professional component”).

Do I have a choice of pathology practices or hospitals where to send my biopsy sample, fluid sample or Pap?

Yes, for the most part, the patient controls their own body samples and they can choose to send their sample to whatever hospital or practice they wish. However, there are some instances where a pathology practice has a contract with an institution and based on the contract if a patient has a procedure at a facility in which the pathology practice has an exclusive contract, the sample must be sent to that practice.

Where can I get my pathology results?

Your pathology results will be sent to your physician at the time they are completed. The turnaround time for most tissue or body fluid samples is 24 hours or less from the time they are received in our laboratory but in some instances the results may take longer especially if special studies such as if special staining procedures need to be completed.

If my family member dies in the hospital, can I ask for an autopsy?

Yes, the contract a pathology practice has with the hospital often times includes the performance of autopsies for the patient’s that die after they have been admitted to the hospital for more than 24 hours. The Pathology Group’s contract with both Community Hospital and the Grand Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center includes the performance of autopsies for these facilities. Please contact your loved ones physicians or our group if you are looking for information on autopsy examination.