AI in Clinical Laboratories Will Drive Business Forward for Diagnostic Leaders, Experts Say
At least a dozen sessions at the 2025 Executive War College explored artificial intelligence use in clinical labs
Although not explicitly stated, it was clear at the 2025 Executive War College on Diagnostics, Clinical Laboratory, and Pathology Management conference that artificial intelligence must be a path forward for labs to control costs in an unfavorable economic environment.
Even though the technology is largely unproven in clinical lab settings, the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in labs is enough reason for laboratory leaders to explore it further.
“AI is allowing us to drive our business,” said Sam Terese, CEO and president at Alverno Laboratories, during a general session at the Executive War College. “It is really resonating that we need to use AI in the future.”
Clinical laboratory leaders should constantly ask themselves whether there is an AI solution to a problem, advised Sam Terese (above), CEO and president at Alverno Laboratories. Terese spoke at the 2025 Executive War College. (Photo copyright: LabX.)
‘Not a Lot of Trust’ in AI from Patients
Terese acknowledged that patients do not yet feel comfortable with the technology. “When you throw AI and healthcare together, from the public’s perspective, there’s not a lot of trust,” he said.
That said, Alverno is committed to increased use of AI in clinical labs in 2025, including for:
- Gram stain interpretation.
- Malaria screening.
- Expansion of oncology diagnostics.
Terese urged laboratory owners and executives to not underestimate how quickly AI adoption could spread within the clinical lab industry. Digital pathology took half a century to evolve into its current state, but “AI took five years. The timeline is moving rapidly,” he observed.
Don’t Move Blindly Forward with AI, Experts Warn
At least a dozen sessions at this week’s Executive War College addressed an aspect of AI in labs.
One session explored the idea of AI offering predictive tools for anatomic pathologists. If clinical laboratory professionals focus too strongly on the risk of AI replacing human jobs, they will miss the technology’s potential to serve as an assistant, said Matthew Cecchini, MD, PhD, a pathologist at London Health Sciences Center and associate professor at Western University, Ontario, Canada. “I feel strongly that we need to engage with AI,” he noted.
Lab leaders must advise their staff to use AI with systems or processes that can tolerate mistakes because AI will get things wrong, Cecchini added.
“I treat AI like an eager intern where you have to check everything it does,” he said.
Presenter Ankit Ranjan, PhD, founder of AI company Sample Healthcare, agreed with that sentiment. He suggested that clinical laboratories should consider AI as a copilot until its algorithms can prove to lab staff that conclusions or predictions are accurate. The long game for AI in labs is not to cut a few staff from the budget but instead act as a revenue driver.
“Inserting AI into end-to-end processes is what really addresses problems,” Ranjan said.
Watch for much more coverage about the state of AI in clinical laboratories in upcoming issues of The Dark Report. If you’re not a subscriber, it’s a great time to take a free trial of our business intelligence briefings.
—Scott Wallask
