Practicing pathology through multiple hospitals at multiple sites. Practice management issues.

Objective: To describe a successful method of management for pathologists to use in an environment of hospital consolidation and managed care.

Design: This article draws on the experience of a large, pathologist-owned regional laboratory in applying management principles needed for practice in the future.

Setting: A group of 20 pathologists, with 19 affiliated pathologists (multiple groups) practicing in rural and urban areas of five states in the Southern Plains.

Principal Findings: Planning, personnel management, organizational structure, finance, and information systems are necessary keys for pathology management in a dispersed system.

Conclusion: The opportunity exists for a professionally and economically satisfying practice in the medical environment of the future.