In a recent Today’s Clinical Lab webinar, our Chief Strategy Officer Nathan Buchbinder led a discussion on insights stemming from The 2025 Laboratory Leadership Report. He was joined by three of our customers shaping the field: Dr. Derek Welch (President and Chief Medical Officer at PathGroup) Dr. Bilal Ahmad (Hematopathologist at Spectrum Healthcare Partners) and Dr. Brian Rubin (Chief of Diagnostic Institute Cleveland Clinic, Lerner Research Institute, and Taussig Cancer Center).
While the conversation spanned staffing pressures, vendor selection, and technology adoption, one theme stood out: the growing role of digital pathology and AI in enabling precision medicine. The panelists brought this to life with real-world examples, illustrating how these technologies are already reshaping pathology workflows and unlocking new layers of insight from every slide.
From Glass Slides to Digital Assets
59% of survey respondents said that digital pathology and AI are highly or extremely impactful in realizing the promise of precision medicine. For Dr. Welch, digital pathology has already shifted the care paradigm. Unlike physical slides, digital images can be queried repeatedly for actionable genetic and molecular insights—screening one sample for multiple defects without exhausting tissue, which is often scarce in modern biopsies.
Dr. Rubin, whose career in soft tissue pathology and genetics has been steeped in precision medicine, described how targeted therapies already transform outcomes when linked to specific genetic alterations. With algorithms, the level of analysis holds the potential to uncover predictive and prognostic markers that would otherwise remain hidden from the human eye.
Barriers to Overcome
While enthusiasm runs high, the panelists agreed that a solid foundation must come first. Dr. Ahmad cautioned that without robust digital infrastructure, AI and advanced analytics remain theoretical. Dr. Rubin pointed to the need for structured, multimodal datasets, combining pathology images with clinical, treatment, and outcome data, to maximize insight.
Dr. Welch added that widespread adoption will hinge on demonstrating a cost-effective downstream advantage. Once payers, providers, and patients see AI as delivering better outcomes at sustainable costs, it will unlock the door for broad adoption, if not even demand from the patient population. Critically, all of our experts highlighted that it was well within the realm of possibility for any laboratory to adopt digital pathology rapidly and successfully
Pharma Partnerships as an Accelerator
Survey respondents ranked collaboration with pharmaceutical and biotech companies–in which diagnostic laboratories can license real-world data to fuel drug development and serve as an AI testbed for real-world validation, for example–among the top opportunities tied to digital pathology. Building on that, Dr. Ahmad noted these partnerships can:
- Create revenue streams beyond payer reimbursement
- Fund otherwise out-of-reach technologies
- Advance therapeutic pipelines through faster patient identification and trial enrollment
Dr. Welch underscored the mutual benefit: in helping to answer these critical questions, digital pathology speeds drug development while ensuring that eligible patients receive the best treatments.
Choosing the Right Vendor: The Foundation for Precision Medicine
Precision medicine’s promise hinges not just on technology, but on the strength of the team behind that technology. The panelists emphasized that successful digital pathology adoption requires more than a purchase. It demands a vendor that can help build a sustainable, future-ready ecosystem.
As Dr. Ahmad explained, “Our success with digital pathology has depended on Proscia’s world-class technology, along with its mission, vision, and collaborative culture. From day one, Proscia has treated us as a true partner. That commitment has enabled us to build a program that continues to deliver impact at scale.”
That means selecting a partner who can:
- Ensure reliability and uptime to keep digital workflows running
- Provide interoperability with existing systems and flexibility for future growth
- Collaborate closely, solving problems in real time rather than simply delivering a product
- Share a long-term vision for AI and precision medicine, keeping today’s investments relevant tomorrow.
That partnership must be grounded in real-world success. “PathGroup has been in the digital space for five years now at scale.” Dr. Welch shared. “Proscia, alongside various integrated scanner vendors, have been pivotal in making our transition a huge success.”
Timelines: Between Now and the Next Five Years
When asked to predict when precision-medicine-driven outcomes will become a primary motivator of digital pathology adoption, the panel offered a range of perspectives.
- Dr. Rubin pointed to technology’s history of advancing faster than expected.
- Dr. Ahmad reflected on his own journey with the field. Early in his career, he doubted digital pathology would mature in his lifetime, even turning down a fellowship in informatics. Today, he forecasts adoption reaching that milestone in three to five years, factoring in healthcare’s traditional lag behind other tech sectors.
- Dr. Welch was more optimistic, hoping for two years, though he acknowledged the gating factor will be proof of cost-effectiveness.
Looking Ahead
Despite different time horizons, the panelists agreed on one thing: the momentum is undeniable. Digital pathology has crossed from experimental to essential, and precision medicine stands to be one of its most transformative applications.
“Prior to going digital, we had more than a few pathologists who said, ‘I don’t know if I want to do this.’” Dr. Welch shared, “Fast forward, and after three years on Concentriq– if I tell the pathologists that we may have to revert to glass for a brief period, it’s absolute panic. Nobody wants to go back to glass.”
