Apr 10, 2013 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Ongoing federal program to encourage providers to adopt EHRs is not without its critics who contend the market is dominated by nation’s biggest health IT companies
News reporters have finally begun to notice that it is boom time for vendors of electronic health record (EHR) systems. Over the past three years, revenue and profits have soared at the nation’s biggest health information companies.
Of course, pathologists and clinical laboratory managers had front row seats to watch these events as they unfolded in recent years. Since 2010, every clinical laboratory and anatomic pathology group has been working to interface their laboratory information systems (LIS) with the EHR systems of parent hospitals and client physicians. (more…)
Apr 5, 2013 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Advances in HIE technology and performance could prove beneficial to clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups
Even before most clinical laboratories have substantial experience with a full-function health information exchange (HIE) serving their region, one HIE expert is predicting that the next generation of HIEs is soon to arrive and will deliver more functionality.
“We’re maturing from HIE 1.0 to HIE 2.0,” declared Micky Tripathi. “We’re in a new world now.” Tripathi is in a position to know. He is CEO of the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative. He also participates on the boards and/or steering committees of the Information Exchange Workgroup of the HIT Policy Committee, the eHealth Initiative, and the New England Health Exchange Network (NEHEN). (more…)
Apr 3, 2013 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations, News From Dark Daily
Financial and clinical fortunes may soon shift for many medical laboratory organizations
By every measure, the clinical laboratory industry is entering a high-stakes period during the next 24 months. Powerful trends are reducing lab budgets and payers are cutting the prices paid for medical laboratory testing. The question on everyone’s mind is “will it get better or worse in the months ahead?”
This question will be asked plenty of times to speakers at the nation’s largest gathering of clinical lab executives and pathology business leaders. On April 30-May1, the upcoming 18th Annual Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management will take place in New Orleans, Louisiana. A record crowd has already registered to attend. (more…)
Mar 18, 2013 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Goal is to deliver more accurate medical laboratory testing in developing countries to improve quality of care
Picture a point-of-care (POC) device that produces highly accurate HIV results at a lower cost and 10 times faster than traditional ELISA testing currently done by clinical laboratories—then automatically, instantaneously transmits and synchronizes the results with cloud-based electronic healthcare records. This device is a reality and was developed by researchers at Columbia University in New York City.
Pathologists and medical laboratory professionals should know that this POC device was developed specifically to support laboratory-quality HIV-testing in remote areas of developing countries. Its creators want to also revolutionize the ability of patients and consumers worldwide to manage their health. (more…)
Feb 27, 2013 | Digital Pathology, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Pathologists and medical laboratory managers will want to stay informed about how genome sequencing data is being translated into clinical applications
There is a vigorous debate unfolding about the ability of personal genome sequencing to reliably predict disease. That is not news to pathologists and clinical laboratory managers. What is a novel twist in the arguments by both sides is whether media coverage has the potential to undermine public support for genomics and personalized medicine.
For example, one media story on a study of the power of personal genome sequencing to predict disease drew fire from some genomics experts on two counts. First, they questioned the validity of the study. Second, they fear that such coverage by the media could weaken public support for genomics and personalized medicine.
Public Perception of the Value of Genetic Testing
During 2012, The New York Times published a story on a study by Johns Hopkins University that sought to determine whether genetic testing can predict future disease. According to the results of this particular study, it cannot.
Some noted genomics experts took the Times—and the study—to task. One is Ronald W. Davis, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry and Genetics at Stanford University School of Medicine. Davis is Director of the Stanford Genome Technology Center. (more…)
Feb 25, 2013 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
‘National Agenda’ seeks to marshal efforts to sharpen the clinical impact of pathology in the genomics era
Pathologists are being urged to seize the high ground as the unfolding revolutions in genomics and bioinformatics create unprecedented capabilities to more accurately diagnose patients and guide the selection of appropriate therapies.
Two experts in these fields have come together to issue a call to action for the pathology profession, stating that pathologists need to be prepared for the sequencing revolution. “Revolution is not too strong a word; this is not incremental change,” declared Dennis P. Wall, Ph.D. and Peter J. Tonellato, Ph.D., in a recent story published in The Scientist. “The use of whole-genome analysis (WGA) can, should, and will replace many current standard pathology practices of diagnosis and prognosis on which proper therapy and disease management rely,” the co-authors asserted.
Wall is an associate professor and director of Computational Biology at Harvard Medical School (HMS). Tonellato is a professor and director of the Laboratory for Personalized Medicine at HMS. (more…)
