Jan 8, 2016 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Pathologists will be interested to learn that this latest version of the acoustic tweezer device requires about five hours to identify the CTCs in a sample of blood
Medical laboratory leaders and pathologists are well aware that circulating tumor cells (CTCs) released by primary tumors into the bloodstream are fragile and easily damaged. Many studies have sought to find ways to separate CTCs from surrounding cells. Such a process could then be used as an early-detection biomarker to detect cancer from a sample of blood.
One team of researchers believe it has a way to accomplish this. These researchers are using sound waves to gently detect and isolate CTCs in blood samples. In turn, this could make it possible to diagnose cancer using “liquid biopsies” as opposed to invasive conventional biopsies.
Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in collaboration with researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) have developed a method for using acoustic tweezers and sound waves to separate blood-borne cancer cells from white blood cells. The research team believes this new device could one day replace invasive biopsies, according to a CMU article. (more…)
Jan 6, 2016 | Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Management & Operations
Tableau Software, IBM, Apple and others are building a future where analysis of clinical data guides personalized medicine, fuels research, and helps reduce healthcare costs
Use of big data in healthcare is poised to become a big business. That’s because new players in data analytics have begun to help providers and accountable care organizations (ACOs) effectively use data to improve their business operations, personalize care for patients, and/or discover new medical insights.
Because more than 70% of a typical patient’s permanent medical record consists of clinical laboratory laboratory test data, pathologists and medical laboratory scientists have a stake in the growth of big-data analytics, which are a core component in healthcare’s journey toward personalized medicine. (more…)
Jan 4, 2016 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement
UnitedHealthcare announces it may exit the federal marketplace because of slow growth and higher-than-expected claims; clinical laboratories may see less reimbursement
Health insurance premiums in 2016 for plans offered through federal Obamacare exchanges (more formally known as the Health Insurance Marketplace) will see an average rate hike on midrange plans of 7.5%. This amount may vary widely depending on which state a consumer lives. In 2016, 38 states will have healthcare consumers apply for and enroll in coverage through the HealthCare.gov platform.
Big increases in healthcare premiums from one year to the next have a direct link to the amount of money health insurers will pay clinical laboratories for lab test claims. That’s because, when health insurers are in a financial squeeze, they tend to reduce reimbursement to providers, including clinical laboratories.
This news about premium increases for 2016 comes from a report issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The rate analysis is part of the federal agency’s 2016 Marketplace Affordability Snapshot. CMS said that nearly eight in 10 returning marketplace consumers will be able to find a plan with premiums for less than $100 per month after tax credits and seven out of 10 will pay less than $75, once taxpayer subsidies are factored in.
“For most consumers, premium increases for 2016 are in the single digits and they will be able to find plans for less than $100 a month,” stated Kevin Counihan, CEO of the Health Insurance Marketplace, in the CMS statement. (more…)
Dec 30, 2015 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
The VirScan test gives doctors insight into a patient’s lifetime exposure to viruses and thus may be developed into a useful medical laboratory test
Scientists and pathologists are learning that blood is like a time capsule, holding precious information about exposure to viruses over the years—chickenpox at five, mononucleosis at 18, flu at 40. You get the idea.
Now, researchers at Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) have found a way to tap that entire data stream, so to speak. An inexpensive blood test, they say, reveals every virus that has passed through the body over time.
New Discoveries Could Lead to a Useful Clinical Laboratory Test
The testing method, called VirScan by researchers, is an efficient alternative to current medical laboratory tests that test for specific viruses one at a time, according to an HHMI news statement about the new technology. (more…)
Dec 28, 2015 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
Researchers’ prototype uses lab-on-a-chip technology and seems to do it all, from collection and analysis to results in minutes and in the palm of your hand
Here’s a diagnostic workhorse that can also easily slip inside the pocket of a doctor’s white coat. The slim device, created and reported by researchers, integrates a clinical laboratory’s workflow from collecting samples to analyzing them and reporting results in minutes.
The device is dubbed “lab in a needle” by researchers at Houston Methodist and their collaborators at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech). The recently announced study focused on liver toxicity. But the research team says in a news statement that their medical laboratory-in-a-needle has potential to diagnose and monitor therapies for many health conditions in settings well beyond the medical laboratory and hospital.
For clinical laboratory leaders and pathologists, the prototype can be seen as another step forward in efforts to develop more sophisticated point-of-care testing (POCT) that incorporate miniature lab-on-a-chip (LOC) technologies. Mass production could bring the tiny mobile lab’s capabilities to remote and rural communities where low cost and ease of use are essential. (more…)
Dec 23, 2015 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations
Meaningful Use Stage 3 focuses on interoperability, which is good news for medical laboratories that must spend time and money to develop effective LIS-EHR interfaces
On December 15, 2015, the final rule for Stage 3 meaningful use (MU) went into effect. By now, pathologists and clinical laboratory managers and personnel are well-acquainted with the MU incentive program and the myriad of challenges it presents for almost everyone working in the healthcare sector.
Although the implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) has caused labs some headaches, the Stage 3 MU requirements could reduce some of that pressure. One of the biggest changes in Stage 3, according to the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), is that the ONC is “finalizing changes to remove the menu and core structure of Stage 1 and Stage 2 and reduce the number of objectives to which a provider must attest.” There will be fewer objectives to prove an EHR system is being used in a meaningful way.
That’s good news for providers struggling with EHR attestation. However, the struggle for clinical laboratories isn’t with attestation per se, it’s with interoperability between lab information systems (LIS) and physicians’ EHRs. (more…)
