image_pdfimage_print

Personal service and professionalism distinguish FirstPath™ LLC, Laboratory as it fulfills its mission to provide rapid, customized state-of-the-art diagnostic anatomic pathology services for South Florida physicians and their patients.

Located in Fort Lauderdale, FirstPath serves a tri-county area from Jupiter to Coral Gables, and also has a van, which is a licensed laboratory on wheels for any doctor’s office or outpatient facility. Founded in 2000 by Ronald F. Giffler, M.D., J.D., and Fred W. Reineke, M.D., who have practiced pathology in Broward County since the early 1980s, FirstPath combines traditional anatomic pathology techniques with the latest tools in molecular diagnostics and informatics.
 
The lab currently serves as the exclusive provider of pathology services for Broward Health and Kindred Hospitals.
 
“With tremendous advances in technology, we can do things I never expected to see done when I was in medical school,” said Dr. Giffler, president of FirstPath.
 
The 15 doctors at the laboratory are physicians first, serving their clients, who are referring physicians in the community. “As a physician-run laboratory, we eliminate confusion by providing consistency in specimen interpretation,” said Dr. Giffler. “The same doctor supervises all reports for multiple tests, and our clients can contact that doctor directly. Findings are never delayed with FirstPath — we routinely send out our reports before the end of the next business day.”
 
With deep ties to the local medical community, FirstPath has demonstrated a strong commitment to serving South Florida patients with the highest degree of professional, personal service.
 
Dr. Giffler, who received his M.D. degree in 1973 from The Medical College of Virginia, and completed a fellowship in oncological surgical pathology at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Hospital in Houston, served as president of the Broward County Medical Association in 2005-06. Last year, he was Chairman of the Board for the Broward County Medical Association.
 
Dr. Giffler is actively involved in numerous professional organizations. He also holds a law degree and a business degree. He is also a Lieutenant Colonel in The United States Army Reserve where he serves as Deputy Command Surgeon of the 81st Army Reserve Command Support in Fort Jackson, S.C., which is responsible for ensuring that all reserve soldiers in the southeast have medical readiness.
 
FirstPath has been at the forefront of sophisticated new analytic techniques. FirstPath became the first anatomic pathology lab in South Florida to utilize computer-assisted morphometric image analysis. This technique is a major step forward in oncology diagnostics.
 
“Our laboratory is geared toward analyzing biopsy specimens and pap smears, and we have interfaced with our computer systems the machines that process tissue,” said Dr. Giffler. “We also have technology that can analyze specimens for abnormal chromosomes for early detection of cancer.
 
“We were first in this community to advance state-of-the-art diagnostic and prognostic testing for molecular parameters for breast cancer so the type and longevity of treatment can be tailored for each individual. That’s the future of medicine.”
 
FirstPath is one of only 6,000 laboratories in the country to be awarded accreditation by the Commission of Laboratory Accreditation of the College of American Pathologists (CAP).The CAP program, begun in the early 1960s, is recognized by the federal government as being equal to or more stringent than the government’s own inspection program.
 
During its second decade, Dr. Giffler noted that FirstPath will continue to grow its client base and acquire newer technology in molecular diagnostics.
 
“We hope to work with other labs of our size, and to achieve more efficient operations,” he said. We also look forward to the challenge and opportunities of the new national healthcare system.”