The Proposed Closing of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology

Abstract

In May 2005, the US Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) Commission recommended the disestablishment of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), which is located on the campus of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. [ 1]. The AFIP is a tripleservice agency within the US Department of Defense and provides diagnostic, teaching, and research support to all branches of the US military, the Veteran's Administration (VA), and civilians around the world. The AFIP was established in 1862 as the Army Medical Museum and evolved over the next century into a joint military-civilian organization with multiple missions. The first-and perhaps most widely known-of these missions is diagnostic consultation. In 2004, the AFIP received >43,000 cases for consultation, of which >13,000 were from VA hospitals and clinics. As part of this consultation service, the AFIP has developed the world's largest telepathology consultation program, an asset that makes expert diagnostic opinion available anywhere in the world.