Determining the processing cost of a skin biopsy specimen

An integral part of directing a pathology laboratory is to understand the nature and behavior of relevant costs. Until recently, pathologists did not need to accurately know the specific costs assigned to various steps in the processing of tissue specimens. With the advent of a more competitive approach to the delivery of health care, laboratory directors must accurately cost their product in order to use competitive pricing strategies. In this article, I review the principles that are used to analyze costs that are identified in a typical dermatopathology laboratory.