SA Pathology
SA Pathology (formally Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science) is an organisation providing diagnostic and clinical pathology services throughout South Australia.
SA Pathology has over 60 patient collection centres and numerous laboratories located throughout South Australia.
As a not-for-profit organisation, SA Pathology bulk-bills patients for all Commonwealth Medical Benefit Schedule (CMBS) pathology tests. In a recent article by Choice magazine, it was recognised as the only consistently 'no gap, bulk billing' pathology provider in South Australia.
Profits generated from pathology are used to support rural communities, medical training and medical research. SA Pathology has over 250 elite medical researchers studying diseases and disorders ranging from blood, breast and colon cancer, bone fractures, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, hepatitis, infectious diseases and genetic disorders.
History
SA Pathology has a rich history of diagnostic pathology and research over 75 years. Established as the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science (IMVS) in the late 1930s, it was an era which saw political and community leaders introduce significant reform, with a focus on improving public health.
Situated near the Royal Adelaide Hospital, South Australia's principal teaching hospital, the Institute began as an offshoot of the hospital laboratories. RAH Superintendent and Dean of Medicine Sir Trent Champion de Crespigny created an organisation combining laboratory services with pathology training and medical research.
Changes occurred in the 1970s with a redefinition of IMVS services, resulting in the divisions of Forensic Pathology and Biology relocating and evolving into what is now the Forensic Science Centre. The 1980s saw stronger relationships with the RAH and the University of Adelaide which allowed the IMVS to diversify activity across emerging areas of pathology.
A later review recommended creation of separate science research laboratories, proposing that any new developments be integrated into IMVS and the hospital, which led to the establishment of the Hanson Institute in the early 1990s.
The IMVS experienced further change in 2008 in a merger with the pathology department of two other hospitals, the Women's and Children's Hospital and Flinders Medical Centre's South Path, when the organisation was renamed SA Pathology. The core business continued to be diagnostic pathology for public health but adhering to its founder’s original vision, integrating pathology with clinical training and medical research.
The Centre for Cancer Biology was established within SA Pathology in 2008 as a hub for innovative science. Currently hosting over twenty group leaders and their teams, the CCB is an internationally recognised cancer research centre where research teams actively form alliances with pharmaceutical companies to foster knowledge and advance new treatments.