I am currently under contract for pathology services with another diagnostic laboratory. Can I still send specimens to AscentPath Veterinary Laboratories without breaking my contract? 

Yes! In most cases you can absolutely send AscentPath specimens, even if you are currently under contract with another laboratory. Typically, you can spend up to 10% of your annual laboratory budget on independent veterinary laboratories like AscentPath. Please be sure to consult with your team and review any contract before deciding to use AscentPath. 

Once you’re comfortable with your obligations, we would be happy to schedule a meeting to discuss how AscentPath can best assist your practice and keep your submissions under any necessary threshold. 

How do I submit a sample to AscentPath?

We have two options for submitting samples to AscentPath.

1.    Regional Courier Pick-Up: If your hospital is located within one of our regional courier zones, AscentPath may be able to organize and pay for courier pick-up of your specimens. Depending on your needs, we can set automatic or on-demand pick-ups, either during business hours or with the use of a lockbox. Better yet, you will be able to request a courier pick up through your AscentPath client portal (below). Or feel free to contact us directly to submit a courier request. Call us today to find out if your hospital is in one of our regional courier zones. 

2.Mail-In with UPS/FedEx: If a courier submission doesn’t work, we also accept specimens submitted via UPS and FedEx. More importantly, AscentPath prioritizes getting the reports for mail-in submissions out fast! All you need to do is package up the specimens and ship with your preferred shipping vendor (next day delivery recommended). Within our New Client Welcome package and on an ongoing basis, we would be happy to supply your practice with specimen transport bags, plastic containers for cytology slides, and 90mL prefilled formalin jars.   AND, to offset or fully cover the cost of shipping, we offer a $15.00 credit per unique animal patient for samples sent via UPS or FedEx.

I have follow-up questions on a report I received? Or - I have questions on how best to sample a lesion or submit a sample? 

At AscentPath, we prioritize exceptional customer service and accessibility for our clients. We are here for you for any and all questions related to taking samples, submitting specimens, and follow-ups on reports – you can count on it!

We do not have a phone bank or phone menu labyrinth to navigate. During regular business hours, a laboratory staff member will personally answer your call. More importantly, our pathologists are available for same-day consultations between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday to Friday (with the exception of public holidays).

Put simply, we want your most difficult cases and we want to continue to work with you on those cases, even after the release of a final report. At AscentPath Veterinary Laboratories, our mission is to work together in patient care. 

What is a client portal and how will it help our hospital?

At AscentPath, we purposely chose a dynamic laboratory information system (LIS) that includes the ability to create personalized client portals for each client, regardless of size. As a practicing clinical veterinarian for almost 10 years, Dr. Price knows the time pressures of clinical practice. With that experience in mind, our goal at AscentPath is to save your practice time and resources while interacting with your pathology service provider.

With the client portals, you will have the immediate ability to monitor recent and current submissions, pending status, and access preliminary/final reports. Further, patient signalment and history is entered directly into the portal. So, if you subsequently submit a sample from the same patient, the LIS will auto-populate the patient’s information. And there are many more benefits of utilizing your client portal that we are happy to onboard and share with your team.

As you can tell, the client portals were designed with our veterinary clients in mind. Your time is valuable and better spent with your patients. Please feel free to schedule a meeting with Dr. Price to discuss how AscentPath can help streamline your laboratory submissions within your daily workflow. 

My patient is doing poorly, can I request a STAT result?

Yes! At AscentPath you can request a STAT result at any time during the submission process. We’ll then separate and give priority to processing the sample and getting a report to you ASAP. You can either request a STAT result in the client portal at the time of sample submission, or call/email us directly if your patient’s status changes. Importantly, we don’t charge any additional fees for requesting a STAT report.

For reference, our normal turnaround times (from date of receipt of the sample in the lab) are: 1 business day for biopsies (with the exception of large specimens that require additional fixation or decalcification) and same day for cytology and body cavity fluid submissions.

What is PARR?

PARR (aka PCR for antigen receptor rearrangement) is a molecular clonality assay that can be performed on cytology, blood, and biopsy specimens from dogs and cats to assist in the diagnosis of lymphoma and make the distinction from inflammatory and reactive lymphoid processes. PARR analysis requires DNA extraction from the submitted specimen, followed by evaluation of antigen receptors on T and B lymphocytes within the sample to determine if there is a clonal population (most often indicative of neoplasia and lymphoma), versus a polyclonal population (indicative of a reactive / inflammatory process).

At AscentPath, we evaluate published and revised T and B cell primer sets, which are run in replicate by capillary electrophoresis. Our clinical and anatomic pathologists have extensive experience and interest in lymphoma in dogs and cats, and interpreting cytology and histopathology changes in combination with immunostains and PARR analysis in order to assist in reaching the correct diagnosis. Our standard turnaround time for PARR is 7-10 business days.

If you have additional questions about PARR and whether this test may be appropriate for your patient, please call and chat to one of our experienced pathologists today.

Can I request a dermatopathologist to review the skin biopsies I submitted?

Yes, you can. All board-certified anatomic pathologists here at AscentPath have extensive dermatopathology experience. In fact, AscentPath supports and pays the membership dues for all of our anatomic pathologists to join the International Society of Veterinary Dermatopathology, and encourages ongoing learning in the field of dermatopathology.

Can I order IHC or ICC on the specimens I submit to AscentPath?

Absolutely! Our clinical and anatomic pathologists have extensive experience in recommending and interpreting specialized immunocytochemistry and immunohistochemistry stains. We currently offer a turnaround time of 7-10 business days for all ICC and IHC results.

Please note that for ICC staining to be performed, there is a requirement of additional unstained slides remaining following cytologic evaluation in order to recommend performing ICC staining. Otherwise, the clinical pathologist may recommend repeat fine needle aspirate analysis for additional cellular collection for ICC staining or possibly biopsy and IHC if indicated.