Apr 23, 2016 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
The laboratory industry’s forward thinkers define molecular diagnostics and genetic testing as both the future of pathology and the #1 opportunity to add clinical value while earning appropriate reimbursement.
Personalized medicine and predictive medicine have become a reality. As molecular technology and personalized medicine increasingly becomes the default position for clinical diagnostics laboratories, these modalities place significant demands on laboratory information systems. Although hospitals and healthcare institutions often focus on an electronic medical records system that includes a laboratory information system (LIS), those LIS’s do not typically have the functionality needed to handle current molecular testing needs, or needs expected in the near future.
DarkDaily.com is pleased to offer a recently published White Paper that discusses the trends in increasing use of genetic and molecular testing, the growth of big data in healthcare, and the challenges facing laboratories in handling the complexities of personalized medicine. (more…)
Apr 22, 2016 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
A hospital in Virginia now offers a genetic service to new parents that could impact clinical pathology laboratories if it develops into a trend
Here’s a first in the rapidly-developing field of pharmacogenomics testing. A hospital in Virginia announced that it would offer a free pharmacogenomics test to newborns. This is a development that will catch the attention of clinical pathologists and medical laboratory professionals at other hospitals across the country.
Inova Women’s Services at the Inova Woman’s Hospital on the Inova Fairfax Medical Campus in Falls Church, VA, has begun offering free MediMap tests to newborns. MediMap is a pharmacogenomics (PGx) test that looks for variations in seven genes that could indicate a child might process certain drugs differently than the majority of the population.
The program is an example of a well-known and often-used marketing tactic: “Buy X and get Y free!” Given the choice between a new free diaper bag and a free, painless test that, as Inova’s website states, “personalizes prescriptions to more effectively treat and manage illnesses in the future,” what new mother would choose the diaper bag? (more…)
Apr 8, 2016 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, Laboratory Testing, Management & Operations
New technology from researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center enables the ability to study cancer cells in their native microenvironments
Imaging research is one step closer to giving clinicians a way to do high-resolution scans of malignant cells in order to diagnose cancer and help identify useful therapies. If this technology were to prove successful in clinical studies, it might change how anatomic pathologists and radiologists diagnose and treat cancer.
Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center developed a way to create near-isotropic, high-resolution scans of cells within their microenvironments. The process involves utilizing a combination of two-photon Bessel beams and specialized filtering. (more…)
Mar 30, 2016 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
IBM Health’s data combined with Truven’s patient records will create an enormous big-data collection representing 300 million patient lives
If any pathologist or clinical laboratory manager still doubts the importance of healthcare big data, the multi-billion-dollar acquisition of Truven Health Analytics by IBM should put those doubts to rest.
Last month, IBM Corp. (NYSE:IBM) announced an agreement to acquire Truven Health Analytics, (Truven) for $2.6 billion. Truven is a provider of cloud-based healthcare, analytics, and insights and is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (more…)
Mar 14, 2016 | Digital Pathology, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
UnitedHealthcare to cover Foundation Medicine’s comprehensive genomic profiling assay for solid tumors, but Medicare still reluctant to reimburse for genetic tests
Studies showing success of targeted therapies in cancer care may be having an influence on the decisions by certain health insurers to reimburse clinical laboratories to reimburse for certain genetic tests.
One example that press reports cite is how last December UnitedHealthcare began reimbursing for a certain genetic test for patients with a particular lung cancer, according to a statement from Foundation Medicine (NASDAQ:FMI). Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Foundation Medicine describes itself as “a molecular information company dedicated to a transformation in cancer care in which treatment is informed by a deep understanding of the genomic changes that contribute to each patient’s unique cancer.” (more…)
Mar 7, 2016 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
Patent filing describes a device that is intended to allow patients to collect their own blood specimens without the need for needles
Google, (now known as Alphabet, Inc.; NASDAQ:GOOG) recently filed an application for another patent that deals with medical laboratory test technology. This patent application is for a needle-free blood draw system that enables patients to perform diagnostic testing on themselves.
The new system is designed to replace painful finger pricks and deliver diagnostic test results digitally to providers’ electronic health record (EHR) systems. Should the technology make it through clinical trials, widespread adoption of such a device could have sweeping implications for pathologists and clinical laboratories across America. (more…)
