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. 2012 Oct;10(5):421–425. doi: 10.1089/bio.2012.0017

Table 1.

Value-added Categories of Activity for Inclusion in a Fee-for-Service Schedule

Item Description Examples and Comments
Accessioning and Disbursal Taking in new specimens, and later disbursing them to requesting investigators, are procedures needing both time and expertise, involving chain-of-custody measures, computer entry, and communication practices. Accessioning and disbursal have specific charges on the fee schedule. Mostly these are labor-based charges, with a small reagents and consumables component for disbursal.
Laboratory Services Collectively, these services form TPC's most visible and recognized core of value in its scientific mission, and thus they represent items which investigators readily identify with, and show willingness to pay for. Specific services are itemized on the fee schedule for customers to see and choose from. Plasma, serum, and Ficoll processing, cytospins, tissue processing and frozen and paraffin section preparation, and DNA and RNA preparation and analysis. Most lab services have the full triad of labor, infrastructure, and reagents/consumables costs underlying them.
Pathology Review This is an essential component of the lab, given the focus on neoplastic disease, and the frequent use of tissues and tissue-based procedures in addressing investigator needs. This is handled as a specialized labor charge, with a per-slide pathology review fee. Less commonly, a pathology consultation fee can apply. Such fees can be waived in certain circumstances (see main text).
Storage This charge applies only to specimens stored under liquid nitrogen vapor, and to investigator-sponsored protocols, and is assessed annually based on the number of post-processing ampules needing storage (not necessarily the number of tubes or samples originally submitted). Calculating an accurate storage charge requires the factoring of the cost of purchasing and maintaining the freezers, and the continual resupply of LN2 required.