University of washington department of laboratory medicine & pathology

Licenses & Accreditation All testing locations within the Department of Laboratory Medicine, UW Medicine are subject to the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA-88). The Molecular Microbiology Division is accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP).

Pathology means “the study of disease," and pathologists are the doctors who interpret biopsy or cytology specimens, monitor laboratory testing, and help interpret those laboratory tests. At HSS the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine is divided into two sections: clinical pathology and anatomic pathology.

A pathologist is a medical healthcare provider who examines bodies and body tissues. He or she is also responsible for performing lab tests. A pathologist helps other healthcare providers reach diagnoses and is an important member of the treatment team.