Hospital lab—commercial medical laboratory collaboration will launch in San Fernando Valley
Yesterday, Pathology Associates Medical Laboratories (PAML) announced a new clinical pathology laboratory joint venture (JV) that is likely to create a tough new laboratory competitor in Southern California.
Spokane, Washington-based PAML and Renton, Washington-based Providence Health & Services will create a new medical laboratory services company to serve California’s San Fernando Valley and its surrounding communities. The new company will begin operating early in 2011 and will be called California Laboratory Associates (CLA), LLC. CLA will provide routine laboratory testing services to medical practices and hospitals from the recently remodeled labs at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, and more specialized reference and esoteric testing from PAML’s laboratory in Washington.
As with previous joint ventures, PAML will focus on sales and marketing, courier and logistics, managing the information technology, customer service, and billing and collections. Providence, which has operated a hospital-based laboratory outreach program since 1983, will leverage the partnership to “expand and increase sales of laboratory services, reduce testing costs and expand the tests offered while providing an efficient billing program.”
This new JV mirrors similar Providence/PAML joint operations in Washington, Idaho and Utah. Providence, which owns a majority share of PAML, expects this new partnership to “provide a strategic opportunity to expand [the hospital’s] outreach laboratory business and to create the premier hospital-based outreach laboratory program in the Greater Valley Area,” said Providence Saint Joseph Chief Executive Barry Wolfman.
According to Tom Tiffany, Ph.D., CEO, PAML , “The partnership affords both PAML and its sister facilities in California the opportunity to leverage our combined laboratory expertise and best practices to gain significant economies of scale and new efficiencies across the business line.”
The next issue of The Dark Report, which goes to press on Monday, September 13, will have detailed coverage about this new clinical laboratory joint venture. This marks the second time in less than a year that PAML entered into a collaboration with a multi-billion dollar health system to develop a hospital laboratory outreach business. The Dark Report’s upcoming analysis of these important developments will explain the reasons why PAML was eager to enter the extremely-challenging California medical laboratory testing marketplace.
Related Information:
PAML Partners with Providence Health & Services, California to Expand Laboratory Outreach Services
Other hospital clinical laboratory outreach joint ventures involving PAML include:
Coeur d’Alene, ID—Founded 1995
Kootenai Medical Center
Kennewick, Pasco, Richland,WA—Founded 1997
Lourdes Health Network
Kennewick General Hospital
Kadlec Medical Center
Boise, ID—Founded 1999
Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center
MOUNTAINSTAR CLINICAL LABS, LLC
Salt Lake City, UT—Founded 2007
St Marks Hospital
Lakeview Hospital
Ogden Regional Medical Center
Olympia, Tacoma, Seattle, Everett, Bellevue,
Kirkland, WA—Founded 1996
PAML (Bellevue, Seattle, Olympia)
Providence Health System – Washington
Providence Everett Medical Center
Providence Centralia Medical Center
Franciscan Health System
St Josephs Medical Center
St Francis Hospital
St Clare Hospital
Stevens Healthcare
Evergreen Healthcare
Overlake Hospital & Medical Center
Valley Medical Center
