New South Wales group pathology services--the Southpath model

There has been significant rationalisation of public pathology service provision in New South Wales through the formation of group pathology services. These services are a fundamental change in the method of service organisation and delivery and little has been reported detailing their organisational and financial structures. Southpath, the group pathology service of the Southern Sydney Area Health Service, has improved service delivery, improved productivity by 18.2 per cent and reduced pathology expenditure per admission by 19.2 per cent. This paper describes the organisation of Southpath as knowledge of the organisational structures and performance of the group pathology service is necessary for the evaluation of this change in the method of service delivery and is essential to the current debate on the value of public pathology services.