Prices of Clinical Pathology Laboratories Are Rising Due to Buyer Demand

Conference on May 5 about clinical laboratory and pathology mergers and acquisitions

For owners and sellers of clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups in the United States, the past six months have been rosy times. That’s because buyers have stepped up and paid strong prices for the medical laboratory companies and pathology testing firms that came to market during this time.

Experts predict that merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the clinical laboratory industry will continue to be robust. Several factors reinforce this optimistic prediction.

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Why Nation’s Clinical Pathology Laboratories Are Failing to Train Our Next Generation of Lab Managers

Lab Manager Training will take place in Baltimore, San Francisco, Chicago, and Miami


Very shortly, the lack of experienced and competent laboratory managers will become the next intractable staffing problem for the nation’s clinical laboratories and pathology groups. Most medical laboratories—already struggling to find adequate numbers of medical technologists (MT) and clinical laboratory scientists (CLS)—will find themselves with an even more acute shortage of skilled managers at every level, from bench supervision to senior laboratory leadership.

Clinical lab managers about to retire in waves
Simply said, the nation’s laboratory leaders are about to experience a demographic time bomb that will rapidly decimate all levels of lab managers in their clinical pathology laboratories. Few medical laboratory organizations are prepared to respond effectively to the predicted rapid turnover among their most experienced and skilled lab managers.

Of course, the demographic time bomb refers to the coming tidal wave of baby boomer retirements. As a reminder, on January 1, 2011—just 85 days away—the oldest baby boomer turns 65 and becomes eligible for social security and Medicare benefits!

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Clinical Pathology Laboratories Need to Prepare the Next Generation of Lab Managers

Special clinical laboratory manager training to take place in four cities this fall


Predictions are that clinical laboratories and pathology groups across the nation will face a growing and serious shortage of skilled managers during the next 24 months. There are two primary reasons why this acute shortage of capable lab managers is soon to develop.

First, the oldest baby boomers turn 65 in January and the long-awaited wave of retirements will begin. This means the most experienced staff members in the medical laboratory—managers at the bench level, the section, and the department—will vacate those positions of responsibility. As these managers depart, the lab loses their decades of experience, along with their invaluable organizational knowledge.

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Shortage of Newly-Trained Doctors Puts Physician Recruits in the Driver’s Seat

Younger Gen X and Gen Y pathologists have different workplace expectations

Aging Baby Boomers are about to retire and double the nation’s population of senior citizens. Meanwhile, a decline in the pool of practicing physicians-the majority of which are part of the Boomer generation-has put the United States on a collision course for the gravest shortage of physicians in our nation’s history.

For medical laboratories, these demographic trends will change the way labs hire, compensate, and retain pathologists. Cejka Search , a St. Louis firm specializing in physician recruitment, recently issued a report on physician recruitment. Among other things, Cejka Search states that the physician shortage has already created tremendous competition among practices for young doctors. In turn, these young doctors demand more in compensation and perks because they can.

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