Doctors Pathology Service (DPS) Joins Growing Biospecimens for Research Program Offered by iSpecimen and the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN)

LEXINGTON, Mass., March 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- iSpecimen®, the marketplace for human biospecimen collections, today announced that Doctors Pathology Service (DPS), a full-service anatomic pathology reference lab serving the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, has joined a program offered by iSpecimen and the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN) to make human biospecimens and associated data available to medical researchers.

The novel program, announced in 2015 as a collaboration between iSpecimen and DHIN, the nation's first operational statewide health information exchange (HIE), allows DHIN members to provide biospecimens paired with de-identified data from the HIE to iSpecimen's research clients. Using data from the HIE to find specimens that match researchers' specific requests, iSpecimen's technology alerts the participating DHIN member to collect, pack, and ship the specimens to iSpecimen or directly to its researcher clients. iSpecimen shares resulting program revenue with the HIE, which in turn shares it with participating members to improve day-to-day operations and care.

DPS is the second DHIN member to join this innovative program, as well as the first and only private reference laboratory within the DHIN network. Union Hospital of Elkton, MD, was the first to participate. Both organizations are contributing remnant specimens to the program – that is, specimens that would otherwise be discarded once medical testing is complete.  As part of the program, only specimens from patients who have consented to allow their samples be used for research are eligible.

Because iSpecimen taps into the data aggregated at the HIE, participating healthcare members can contribute samples to research without requiring an IT implementation of their own. Not only does this benefit the member by allowing them to quickly generate additional revenue with few resources required, but it also brings benefit to the HIE—allowing the HIE to deliver value well past the point of care, increase its own revenue and sustainability, and help it advance the cause of medical research.

As a pathology lab, DPS samples consist of fresh, frozen, and fixed solid tissue, fresh primary cells, and liquid cytology samples. The organization manages 30,000 patient encounters a year and is one of the nation's largest pathology practices providing services to ambulatory surgical centers. Joining the program addresses the critical need for high-quality specimens by biomedical researchers. DPS specimens will be attractive to scientists investigating areas such as cancer and infectious diseases, among many other types of medical conditions.

"This type of a program is a real win-win for healthcare," said V. Raman Sukumar, MD, Medical Director, DPS. "We and other healthcare organizations have valuable human biospecimens that we either discard or store indefinitely, while researchers desperately need samples just like the ones we have on hand. iSpecimen comes in with a large researcher customer base and the technology to make a match, while DHIN executes on the data transfer. We're all in medicine to heal, and this is another way we can do it together."

"It's great to have a dedicated anatomic pathology lab as part of the DHIN-iSpecimen program," said Christopher Ianelli, MD, PhD, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, iSpecimen. "With precision medicine surging, solid tissues and primary cells are of utmost importance in identifying genetic markers, particularly for cancer. Liquid cytology is also in great demand for the study of infectious disease and viral DNA. DPS is a unique and promising partner to have in our quest to provide researchers with the specimens they need from the patients they want."

About DHIN
DHIN, the Delaware Health Information Network, is the first live, statewide health information exchange in the nation. Launched in 2007, today, it serves all of Delaware's acute care hospitals and approaching 100% of the state's medical providers. More than 14,000,000 deliveries of clinical results and reports are made through DHIN each year. There are a total of 2.2 million unique patients with results on DHIN, including patients from all 50 states. DHIN is sharing real-time clinical information to improve patient outcomes, eliminate the duplication of service and reduce the cost of healthcare. For more information about DHIN, visit www.DHIN.org or call 302-678-0220. Please also visit DHIN on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (@DHIN_hie).

About DPS
Established in 1993, Doctors Pathology Service is a full-service pathology consulting and teaching organization that offers the convenience and accessibility of a hospital and the expansive expertise of a large commercial lab. DPS adds value to healthcare practices through comprehensive medical offerings, strong partnerships with academic institutions, and active involvement with regulatory and organized medicine. With its advanced technology offerings, DPS integrates into all types of practices, from single practitioners to large groups with several locations. Visit www.dpspa.com. 

About iSpecimen
iSpecimen is the marketplace for human biospecimen collections, providing researchers with the specimens they need from the patients they want. Headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts, the privately held company uses proprietary cloud-based technology to match qualifying samples and associated data from its diverse network of hospitals, labs, biobanks, blood centers, and other clinical organizations to biomedical researchers' specimen requests. iSpecimen sources biofluids, solid tissue, and primary cells, offering clinical remnants, banked samples, and samples collected prospectively for research. Scientists gain easy access to the high-quality samples they need. Partner sites gain an opportunity to further contribute to biomedical discovery as well as their bottom line. And ultimately, healthcare advances for all. For more information about iSpecimen, please visit www.ispecimen.com.

SOURCE iSpecimen

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