Nov 20, 2013 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing
This technique transforms ordinary paper into a biofunctional medium that could support a variety of diagnostic tests and lower the cost of clinical laboratory testing
Is the clinical laboratory profession ready for a diagnostic technology that uses ordinary copy paper as the foundation for applying the reagents needed to run any number of fast, portable, accurate, and cheap medical laboratory assays? A recent technology breakthrough may make this possible in just a few years.
A bioengineering team at the University of Washington (UWA) has developed a method to stick medically interesting molecules to ordinary copy machine paper. This “chemical trick” opens the door to developing all sorts of paper-based diagnostic tests that are not just cheap, but virtually free, noted a report published by Fierce Medical Devices. (more…)
Nov 13, 2013 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Scribe-assisted physicians say their productivity is back to normal after plummeting with connection to an EHR and have time to spare
One unintended consequence of the federal program to encourage hospitals and physicians to adopt and use electronic health record (EHRS) systems is the creation of a new category of healthcare worker. Today, a growing number of hospitals and medical groups are hiring medical scribes.
Medical scribes are trained individuals who document physician-patient encounters in real-time while a physician is examining the patient. Dark Daily was one of the first to call attention to this new healthcare profession. Medical scribes got their start several years ago working in emergency rooms (ER) to help increase ER physician productivity [See Dark Daily: Adoption of EMRs Creates Demand for New Healthcare Job of ‘Scribes’].
Now, thanks in part to $15.5 billion in federal funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, medical scribes are assisting physicians outside the ER. They can be found with doctors making hospital rounds and in medical practices, entering patient medical data into EHRs while physicians are examining or interacting with patients, noted a report published in Modern Healthcare. (more…)
Nov 8, 2013 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing
The end of fee-for-service payments has huge implications for U.S. medical laboratories and anatomic pathology practices
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA—In the American healthcare system today, the era of fee-for-service medicine will soon end. This development has huge implications for every clinical laboratory and anatomic pathology practice in the United States because fee-for-service is their primary source of revenue.
This week at the 2013 Annual Conference of the California Clinical Laboratory Association (CCLA), no single topic got more attention than that of reimbursement for clinical laboratory tests and anatomic pathology services. (more…)
Nov 1, 2013 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations
In September UnitedHealthcare and its collaborators announced plans to create what is planned to be one of the largest accountable care organizations in Wisconsin
As predicted, national health insurance companies are moving deliberately to be part of large accountable care organizations (ACOs). For example, in Wisconsin, three health systems and one of the nation’s largest health insurers are developing a multi-system accountable care organization designed to compete with the largest ACO in the state.
ACOs Expected to Use Medical Laboratory Testing in Different Ways
For pathologists and clinical laboratory executives, this development is a reminder that ACOs will play a significant role in healthcare’s transformation. Also, these super-sized ACOs will have their own influence on the transformation of medical laboratory testing in this country, since ACOs can be expected to use medical laboratory testing in different ways and are unlikely to use fee-for-service as the primary method of payment for laboratory testing.
In September when UnitedHealthcare (UHC) (NYSE: UNH) announced it was collaborating with two health systems to form an ACO in Wisconsin to cover 100,000 patients. A third health system (Ministry Health) joined the new ACO network a week later. UHC efforts are part of a nationwide strategy to double what it spends to provide care in ACOs. (more…)
Oct 28, 2013 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers can tap into this highly skilled pool of medical lab technicians as servicemen and women reenter the U.S. workforce
Returning veterans who are experienced medical lab technicians are having trouble finding employers that recognize and credit their military training and experience. Clinical laboratories now actively recruiting lab technicians will want to learn more about the availability of these qualified candidates in their communities.
One medical laboratory company already partners with a Department of Defense (DoD) program to help match skilled veteran jobseekers with private sector employers. That is American Esoteric Laboratories, a division of Sonic Healthcare USA. The existence of this program means that pathologists and clinical laboratory managers may be overlooking a ready source of highly skilled laboratory workers.
Combat Medics and Military Lab Technicians (more…)
Oct 25, 2013 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Clinical laboratory organizations that seek to set themselves “apart from the herd” are seeking internally recognized quality accreditation, such as ISO 15189
Even as only a small number of clinical laboratories, in the United States have taken the steps to earn accreditation to ISO 15189 Medical Laboratories, it is a different story in other nations, particularly where no statutory requirement for medical laboratory licensure or accreditation exists.
North of the border, the Canadian Province of Ontario has based medical laboratory accreditation on ISO 15189. Over the past decade, more than 130 laboratory organizations in the province have earned accreditation to ISO 15189. Other provinces in Canada have taken steps to develop their own ISO 15189 accreditation programs. (more…)
