Pathology News Roundup: April 2026

#HODPLS26. Approximately 250 pathologist leaders attended the College of American Pathologists' (CAP)  2026 Spring House of Delegates Meeting and Pathologists Leadership Summit in Washington, DC on April 25–28.   The CAP offered two days of workshops that featured sessions on contract negotiations, innovations that increase efficiency in anatomic pathology, and how to hold collaborative negotiations with the C-suite. The House discussed the future of pathology, and what pathologists need to do to strengthen their scope of practice and relationships with state pathology societies. The event culminated with a visit to Capitol Hill to advocate for the future of pathology and laboratory medicine. 

Image Courtesy of Ashkay Patel, Interim CEO of CAP,  on LinkedIn.

The House of Delegates meeting opened with a live debate on “The Path Forward," a 90-minute session moderated by Dr. Marilyn Bui, Vice Speaker of House of Delegates, and featuring a panel of insightful speakers. This session paired emerging tech and Al disruption with the reimbursement and payment landscape to examine what's coming, what's feasible, and what pathologists can do now to shape outcomes.

Dr. Bui commented on LinkedIn: "The discussion generated strong interest and continued with an engaging 40-minute live Q&A. The momentum carried on beyond the session, with conversations spilling into the breaks and the evening reception." Dr. Bui went on to discuss the key takeaways from the session: "Pathology's future won't be determined by technology alone, it will be determined by what can be deployed safely, defended credibly, and reimbursed sustainably. We will not be protected by the work we do. We will be protected by demonstrating the value of what we do to clinicians, to payers, to policymakers, and to patients."

2026 API Summit. We're just a few weeks away from the API Summit! The foremost thought leaders and innovators in clinical laboratory and anatomic pathology informatics gather in Minneapolis from May 18–21. The summit, sponsored by the Association for Pathology Informatics, features a variety of sessions covering topics including Laboratory Medicine, Anatomic Pathology, Digital Imaging and Machine Vision, Molecular/Genomics, Operations, Education, AI/Machine Learning, and more.

Voicebrook's team will be onsite at the 2026 API Summit from May 18–20. Our technology helps unify digital slide navigation, reporting, structured data capture, and workflow actions through speech; supporting the future of modern pathology informatics. 

If you're curious about how labs are cutting reporting time, which digital platforms we're officially partnered with, or what voice-enabled workflows could look like in your environment... we'd love to meet you! 

Click here to schedule time with Voicebrook at the API Summit.

CAP Practice Leader Survey Report. The CAP has released the 2025 CAP Practice Leader Survey Report, providing new data-driven insights into the current pathology practice environment. Published biennially, the report is designed to help inform advocacy efforts by supplying evidence that shapes policy priorities affecting laboratories and pathology groups nationwide. Members also gain a clearer view of workforce trends, including training pathways, experience levels, and hiring patterns across the profession.

The report examines practice operations, staffing, economics, digital pathology adoption, and broader market pressures. Among the most notable findings, 71 percent of practices reported a negative impact from decreased reimbursement over the past two years. Of those affected, 26 percent cited increased turnaround times, 26 percent reported reduced non-physician laboratory staffing, and 18 percent reported reduced pathologist staffing.

The 2026 CAP Practice Characteristics Survey is also expected to launch this summer to gather deeper practice-level insights.