Pathology Test Prices Costing Model^TM

In response to the Carter review all Pathology departments are charged with identifying significant savings to contribute towards a national estimate of £500 million. Not only is this a challenging time for Pathology but it also means the development of effective and standard tools to achieve this target within a relatively short timeframe is long overdue. Historically, some Pathology departments have built in-house programmes to cost tests but there is no published evidence to indicate their reliability or their effectiveness outside the site they are implemented. Without a market-driven standardised technique for costing Pathology the reliability of Pathology costing is still questionable.

To meet the growing need for an industry standard tool for costing Pathology tests, RLK Associates embarked on a project to develop a product that can quickly generate various performance indicators including the prices of all Pathology tests. The model is designed to produce individual prices per test, total cost of the Pathology service, real costs that arise when services are reconfigured, and whether services are financially efficient and productive - this in turn can be used to inform the future viability of individual Pathology departments.