DR. JAVIER RODRIGUEZ-BECERRA

His internship and residency in clinical and anatomic pathology was accomplished at Centro Médico de Puerto Rico, where he also worked as Chief of Residents. After his residency, Dr. Rodríguez held the positions of Director and Executive Director of CLENDO Reference Lab. Later, he worked as Technical Supervisor at Hato Rey Pathology Associates. Today, he is the President of Atlantic Pathology, Inc. a pathology and cytopathology laboratory. He has been an avid advocate of the Fine Needle Aspiration technique (FNA) in thyroid lesions, breast, and salivary glands. He has performed over 10,000 FNA procedures during the past 10 years as well as participated in various seminars and symposiums in Puerto Rico. He was the first pathologist in Puerto Rico to be certified by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) in the sono-guided fine needle aspiration technique.

During his professional career, Dr. Javier Rodríguez, has participated and worked in research programs related to Hepatitis A in Puerto Rico and has also had experience in molecular techniques for the study of cancer and retrovirus. He has been selected by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) as inspector of hospitals and clinical laboratories registered by this agency in charge of Puerto Rico. In 2006, he was certified by the American Board of Pathology in clinical and anatomic pathology under the new designation of Maintenance of Certification (MOC), which requires revalidation.

He has also been involved in important avant-garde initiatives in the health quality area, such as “Six Sigma” (Green Belt), among others. He maintains his certification by the American Society of Quality (ASQ) as Quality Auditor (ASQ-CQA). He is a past president of the Puerto Rican Chapter (ASQ-1500). He possesses training in Six Sigma (Green Belt) which positions him as one of the pioneers in incorporating new tendencies in quality practices of clinical and pathology laboratories. For this reason, he stands out as consultant and lecturer on the subject of Quality and Continuous Improvement of Quality in the health field.

Dr. Rodríguez is also recognized for his expert work in medical computer science. He has developed and collaborated in the design and assembly of programs and information systems for companies such as Clendo Reference Lab (SINCRO LIS), Menonita Health Plan ( PSHM), and has contributed as a consultant in the programming of communication interfaces of laboratory instruments such as Hitachi 747 and Beckman Coulter GENS.

Among the accreditations and certifications that Dr. Rodríguez possesses, are: Fellow of American Board of Pathology, Fellow of American College of Pathologists, Fellow of American Society for Clinical Pathology, American Society for Quality, Certified Quality Auditor, American Society of Medical Review Officers, Certified Medical Review Officer, and CAP USFNA Expertise Certificate.