Dec 3, 2014 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, Laboratory Testing
Researchers at the University of California San Francisco revealed that the cost for a simple cholesterol test ranged from as little as $10 to as much as $10,169!
Clinical laboratories owned by hospitals and health systems should take note of a public study of hospital laboratory test prices that was conducted by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF). It was published this summer and showed a remarkable range of prices for medical laboratory tests charged by California hospitals.
How about a charge of $10,169 for a routine blood cholesterol test? This was one finding a study discussed in the August 2014 issue of the British Medical Journal Open blog. The study was led by Renee Hsia, M.D.. She is an associate professor of Emergency Medicine and Health Policy at the UCSF Medical School. Hsia and her colleagues compared charges for 10 common clinical laboratory tests that were reported in 2011 by all non-federal California hospitals. (more…)
Nov 17, 2014 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Innovative medical laboratories are developing ways to deliver more value to physicians ordering and using lab tests
TEMPLE, TEXAS—Changes now happening to healthcare and the practice of medical laboratory medicine were upfront and personal here during last Friday’s meeting of the Texas Section of the American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC).
An impressive crowd of more than 120 pathologists, Ph.D.s, and clinical laboratory professionals were present to learn from an all-star panel of lab industry innovators. Space does not allow a full report of all 10 speakers who addressed this conference, but a nugget or two from three of the morning speakers will illustrate some of the latest thinking on how medical laboratories and pathology groups can make the transition from a transactional business model (fee-for-service payment) to a value-added clinical model (bundled or shared per-patient-per-month fee).
After an opening presentation by your Dark Daily editor, Robert L. Michel, who identified the primary dynamics propelling healthcare’s transformation, the next speaker launched into the key issue associated with how clinical labs and pathology groups can deliver value. (more…)
Oct 20, 2014 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing
Other clinical laboratory organizations responding to the RFP were Laboratory Corporation of America, Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, and Mayo Clinic
Last Friday, Alberta Health Services (AHS) in Edmonton, Alberta, announced that Sonic Healthcare Limited (SHL.AX), of Sydney, Australia, has been selected as the medical laboratory testing provider to serve Edmonton and parts of central and northern Alberta. This agreement is worth $3 billion Canadian over 15 years and is believed to be the world’s biggest clinical laboratory testing contract currently out for bid.
Competition for this clinical laboratory testing contract was intense. Last April, four organizations were identified as having submitted responses to Alberta Health Service’s (AHS) request for proposals (RFP). They were: (more…)
Sep 24, 2014 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Growth in the number of employed physicians is contributing to heightened workplace tensions due to the cultural differences among the three generations now working together
What happens when Gen Y, Gen X, and Baby Boomer physicians are employees in the same hospital, clinic, or medical laboratory? There can be a clash of expectations, values, and goals that may cause tension in the workplace.
This happens when physicians, including pathologists, from different generations and different levels of experience levels come together as employees of hospitals and large medical groups, noted a recent story published by Modern Healthcare.
This is a result of the trend where more physicians are employed by hospitals today than ever before. For example, in 2006, just 16% of doctors worked for hospitals. However, by 2012 that figure had climbed to 20%. If physicians working in medical practices partially owned by hospitals are counted, then 26% of all physicians are employed by hospitals. (more…)
Sep 8, 2014 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, News From Dark Daily
Blame it on shrinking hospital budgets and reduced lab testing prices; successful labs are using Lean, Six Sigma, and process improvement to reduce expenses and boost quality
Topic number one at clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups across the nation is cost-cutting, for two reasons. First, it is budget time at hospitals and labs are being told to aggressively reduce their costs in 2015. Second, health insurers are paying less for medical lab testing.
Simply said, labs are experiencing one of the toughest financial squeezes in two decades. Dark Daily has written about the underlying trends responsible for this financial pressure. Nationally, hospital inpatient admissions are down at the same time that hospitals are being paid less per inpatient. In response, hospitals are asking all clinical departments—including their clinical laboratories—to prune staff and cut budgets for 2015. (more…)
Aug 29, 2014 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Uncategorized
In both the hospital market and the ambulatory market, Epic has the best-selling electronic health records system, according to data issued by ONCHIT
Across the nation, clinical laboratories and pathology groups are busy interfacing their laboratory information (LIS) systems to the electronic health record (EHR) systems of their client hospitals and physicians. Yet, few lab managers know which EHR systems are dominating the market and which EHR systems are barely surviving.
In fact, it can be a challenge to understand market share by vendor. That is because market share can be determined in multiple ways. Dark Daily found three different rankings of EHR vendors. Each was based on slightly different sets of data. (more…)
