During the CAP22 meeting, the CAP recognized Advocacy leaders for their efforts at the CAP Meritorious Service Awards Program. On October 9, the CAP recognized Eric Loo, MD, FCAP, as the Advocate of the Year for his outstanding accomplishments in advocacy over the past years; Ronald W. McLawhon, MD, PhD, FCAP, received the CAP Outstanding Communicator Award, Gregary Bocsi, DO, FCAP, received the CAP Public Service Award, and CAP Past-President Patrick T. Godbey, MD, FCAP, received the Pathologist of the Year Award.

Recognizing his long and distinguished career in pathology, the CAP named Dr. Godbey the Pathologist of the Year for his long service to the CAP. Dr. Godbey has served as the Council on Government and Professional Affairs chair, overseeing the organization’s legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts for patients, pathologists, and medical laboratories. Dr. Godbey went on to serve as CAP President from 2019-2021.

As the Advocate of the Year, Dr. Loo, who is a member of the CAP Federal and State Affairs Committee, successfully secured proficiency testing safeguards in legislation related to direct-to-consumer laboratory testing in New Hampshire. At the federal level, he provided arguments against bringing back gene patenting from a clinical laboratory perspective on the patent reform roundtables established by US Senators Richard Burr and Chris Coons and has been the only physician voice at the table.

As the Outstanding Communicator Award, Dr. McLawhon has led the development of the new pathology clinical consultation codes, overseeing their valuation by the American Medical Association RVS Update Committee, and advocating for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to adopt these codes. In addition, Dr. McLawhon is vice chair of the Economic Affairs Committee, chair of the CPT/RUC Subcommittee, and a member of the Council on Government and Professional Affairs.

Gregary Bocsi, DO, FCAP, received the CAP Public Service Award for his service to pathologists and patients. Dr. Bocsi has been a leader in the CAP’s Quality Performance Measure Development process through the Quality and Clinical Data Registry Affairs Committee. While on the Economic Affairs Committee, Dr. Bocsi was a liaison with the CAP’s Quality Center for Evidence-Based Guidelines on its advisory panel for MMR/MSI Testing in Patients Checkpoint Inhibitor Guideline.