Sep 6, 2013 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Clinical laboratories have an opportunity to provide medical laboratory test services to employer-sponsored wellness programs
Venture capitalists are beginning to pour dollars into mobile apps designed to support corporate health and wellness. For savvy pathologists and clinical laboratory managers, this represents an opportunity to serve a cash-paying market for medical laboratory testing.
Another aspect of this trend which may be worth studying by pathologists and clinical laboratory administrators is the use of “gamification” by these mobile app developers. Gamification uses technologies and programming to more deeply engage the user, just as a video game does.
Corporate wellness platform Keas of San Francisco, California, recently announced an $8-million investment round, according to a story at mobihealthnews.com. Ignition Partners and Atlas Ventures provided the capital. With this latest round of funding, investors have $25.5 million invested in Keas. (more…)
Sep 4, 2013 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Digital Pathology, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations, News From Dark Daily
As medical laboratories struggle to reduce costs and squeeze their budgets, it is essential that the lab’s quality assurance/quality control program is run properly to protect and enhance the analytical integrity of lab test results
When does budget cutting in a clinical laboratory begin to undermine the accuracy and analytical integrity of the medical laboratory test results produced by the laboratory?
This question is apparently a subject of much discussion within some lab organizations where aggressive cost reduction programs are shrinking lab staff and reducing funds spent on controls and similar QA/QC resources.
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Aug 19, 2013 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations, News From Dark Daily
Clinical laboratories and pathology groups are deploying customer relationship management tools as a way to deliver more value to physicians and other providers
Healthcare’s accelerating shift away from fee-for-service payment and toward value-based reimbursement presents new challenges to clinical laboratories and pathology groups. These new payment models motivate providers to seek strategic partners who can deliver added value.
To succeed in this paradigm, clinical laboratories must differentiate themselves. This will require effective management of client relationships. Labs will soon need to do much more than simply process medical test orders and send lab results back to referring physicians. In fact, early-adopter lab organizations are accomplishing these goals by using client relationship management (CRM) tools.
To serve these lab organizations, vendors are bringing customized CRM tools to market. Unlike the generic customer relationship management products of past years, these next generation CRM products are tailored to meet the complex needs of healthcare organizations. CRM systems that are customized to the needs of clinical laboratories and pathology groups are now available.
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Aug 16, 2013 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Pathology groups and clinical laboratories gain the benefits of increased connectivity, greater productivity, and a tool to reduce costs
Acceptance of digital pathology systems is growing steadily in both North America and Europe. One sign of this acceptance is the rapid increase in the purchase of digital pathology systems by anatomic pathology laboratories in these regions.
In fact, one consulting company says that the digital pathology market is poised to explode over the next seven to eight years. This will happen as medical laboratories acquire and deploy digital pathology systems to improve their connectivity with other providers, to improve productivity of pathologists, and as a tool to reduce costs. (more…)
Aug 2, 2013 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Sales and Marketing
Many IVD vendors are cautiously optimistic about the “state of the medical lab industry,” but recognize that declining reimbursement for lab tests is now harming many lab organizations
DATELINE: Houston, Texas—Once again, the American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC) and the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS) attracted a large crowd for their joint annual meeting. And, as is true every year, the activity on the exhibit floor provides valuable insights about the state of the clinical laboratory.
Your Dark Daily editorial team was here all week and had conversations with many executives from in vitro diagnostic (IVD) manufacturers, laboratory informatics vendors, and specialty test companies.
Nation’s Largest Trade Show for Medical Laboratory Vendors (more…)
Jul 29, 2013 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations, News From Dark Daily
To solve this problem, clinical laboratories can contract with best in class vendors that will put screens on orders and results that filter out inconsistencies
In recent weeks the Department of Health and Human Services announced that more than 50% of doctors and 80% of eligible hospitals would be using electronic health record (EHR) systems by the end of 2013. Although federal officials are celebrating this accomplishment, for the clinical laboratory testing industry, EHR adoption, at best, has been problematic and, at worst, is a financial burden.
Despite increased connectivity, clinical laboratories have had create interfaces between their laboratory information systems (LISs) and the EHRs of their client physicians and hospitals. The federal officials who designed the financial incentives foster meaningful use among all clinicians for EHR adoption, but have not reimbursed labs for the substantial time and expense needed to establish these interfaces. (more…)
