Aug 24, 2015 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
In just eight months, Iggbo claims to have 4,000 phlebotomists participating and is now operating in 18 states
Even as Uber and Lyft are bringing a new business model to the taxicab business, a group of entrepreneurs in Virginia want to do the same thing to the phlebotomy services offered by clinical laboratories. Since launching this service in January, the new phlebotomy company operates in 18 states.
The company is called Iggbo. It describes itself as an on-demand anytime/anywhere blood draw service and hopes to streamline the way blood samples move from patients to medical laboratories as the start-up looks to revolutionize phlebotomy the way Uber disrupted taxi service.
Based in Richmond, VA, Iggbo is introducing the sharing economy to the laboratory test collection process, a move that could benefit independent clinical laboratories and pathology groups that join Iggbo’s growing network of labs and independent phlebotomists. (more…)
Aug 21, 2015 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Smaller clinical laboratories and pathology groups should benefit from shift toward consumer-driven healthcare
High-deductible health plans (HDHP) are increasing in popularity as more consumers opt for lower annual premium costs in exchange for larger out-of-pocket expenses. This shift in health insurance could result in direct benefits for smaller clinical laboratories and pathology groups as more patients have a choice in where they purchase medical laboratory testing services.
From a policy perspective, employers and healthcare strategists hope that using HDHPs to engage consumers will help put market forces back into medicine. Because clinical laboratories and pathology groups increasingly find themselves excluded from provider networks, and fighting to keep access to patients, they should welcome the trend to consumer-driven healthcare.
A logical response to the HDHP trend would be for labs to begin posting their lab test prices on their websites. It would be equally useful to also post quality-performance and customer-satisfaction survey results to allow consumers to make informed choices about the labs they want performing their tests. (more…)
Aug 19, 2015 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Testing, Management & Operations
Sequencing this new DNA standard reference material enables medical laboratories to verify if their DNA test results are accurate
To reduce the variability in genetic test results that has been observed across different clinical laboratories and pathology groups, the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) has introduced a new standard DNA reference. This is another step forward to improve transparency in the quality and accuracy of genetic test results produced by medical laboratories in the United States and abroad.
Even as scientists continue to identify genetic mutations that could cause various cancers and other diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and cystic fibrous, studies have demonstrated that DNA test results from the same specimen can vary depending on which medical laboratory performs the whole-genome sequencing analysis. This is partly due to variances in the technology, chemicals and processes used for the testing. Therefore, ensuring consistently reliable test results has been difficult, which could lead to inaccurate or missed diagnoses.
That is why a new standard DNA reference material developed by the National Institute for Standards and Technology has the potential to help DNA sequencing facilities to verify if their DNA test results are accurate. The new reference material, NIST RM 8398, was designed to improve the accuracy of diagnostic laboratories that analyze DNA using “next-generation sequencing” (NGS) technology. (more…)
Aug 17, 2015 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
By placing this low-cost, disposable device developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on their arms or abdomens, patients can collect their own blood at home in minutes
For more than two years, the nation’s media have been captivated by Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes’ vision of offering patients who need blood tests a finger stick collection instead of a venipuncture. Meanwhile, in research labs across the nation, there are credible efforts to develop ways to collect medical laboratory test specimens that require no needles at all.
On such effort may soon enter the market. It is an innovative, needleless blood-collection device called HemoLink developed by a research team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Users simply place a device with the diameter of a golf ball against their arms or abdomens for two minutes. During that time, the device draws blood from capillaries into a small container. Patients would then mail the tube of collected blood to a medical laboratory for analysis.
This non-threatening device is ideal for children. However, patients who require recurrent blood tests to monitor health conditions would also benefit, as it would save them frequent trips to clinical laboratories for blood draws using traditional needle-stick methods. (more…)
Aug 14, 2015 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Management & Operations
National Health Service agency admits to releasing information on 700,000 patients who opted out of nation’s new centralized medical-information database
In the United States, the debate is ongoing about how healthcare data is used while at the same time protecting patient privacy. The outcome of this debate will be increasingly important for medical laboratories because—in order to deliver more value—labs will want to combine lab test data with other sources of clinical information.
Thus, a similar debate over patient privacy and use of health data in the United Kingdom will be of interest to pathologists and clinical laboratory managers in this country. Recently, England’s National Health Service (NHS) came under fire for releasing information on about 700,000 patients against their wishes—a breach the NHS blamed on a lack of funding and “technical issues” encountered by the body responsible for overseeing the country’s big data initiative for healthcare.
700,000 Patients Opted Out of UK’s Centralized Medical Database
The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) has admitted to Members of Parliament that medical details from as many as 700,000 patient records have been shared with organizations and companies, despite the fact that those patients opted out of NHS England’s new centralized medical database, Care.data. (more…)
Aug 12, 2015 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
Among all medical specialties, pathologists have a high rate of participation in both Medicare reporting programs
Many pathologists are aware of Medicare’s Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) and Electronic-Prescribing Incentive (e-prescribing) Program. But what is less known is that up to 40% of eligible doctors nationwide are opting to not participate and thus get paid less money from the Medicare program.
That high rate of non-participation is not true for one group of practitioners, however. Pathologists had the highest participation rate (78.7%) among specialties in PQRS and recorded the fourth-highest participation rate (80.3%) in the e-prescribing program! Pathologists received an average incentive of $246 for the 2013 e-prescribing program and $384 for the 2013 PQRS program. (more…)
