Feb 29, 2016 | Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Incident highlights need for anatomic pathology and clinical laboratories to protect computer and LIS systems from hackers and malware
Anatomic pathology labs and clinical laboratories that continue to run Microsoft Windows XP on their computer systems now have a real threat to address. In Australia, the computers in a hospital’s medical laboratory were infected in January with a computer virus that shut down the system. To maintain clinical services, the lab staff was forced to use paper-based methods, among other solutions.
The computer virus crippled the pathology department at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and spread throughout the hospital system by targeting computers running Microsoft Windows XP. This is a 14-year-old operating system that Microsoft no longer supports.
According to a story in iTnews, the Qbot malware first infected computers in Royal Melbourne Hospital’s pathology department in mid-January, handcuffing the pathology department. Staff was forced to develop manual workarounds to process specimens and to record and communicate results. (more…)
Feb 26, 2016 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
This healthcare big data project’s tools and predictive models involve real-time monitoring of patient data and are expected to be available soon to other to providers
One healthcare big data project has begun to report progress on using predictive analytics to improve patient care in the diagnosis and management of such health conditions as sepsis and heart failure. This pioneering effort is being done at the University of Pennsylvania Health System’s (Penn Medicine’s), Institute for Biomedical Informatics (IBI).
What will be of high interest for pathologists and clinical laboratory executives is how this big data project incorporates lab test results into the effort.
Recently, Penn Medicine announced Penn Signals, a big-data project that, in part, relies on the lab data housed in the academic medical center’s laboratory information system (LIS) as well as its outpatient and inpatient data house in its electronic health record (EHR) system. (more…)
Feb 24, 2016 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
As reimbursement models shift, physician practice management companies (PPMCs) offer increased value and appeal for hospital-based physicians (HBPs)
Are physician practice management companies (PPMCs)—a hot trend during the 1990s—poised to make a comeback in this decade? Whether this healthcare business model can gain traction during the 2010s remains to be seen, but, of all physician specialties, pathologists are likely to be among the most skeptical, just as they were during the 1994-2000 heyday of PPMCs.
In the mid-1990s, such physician practice management companies as MedPartners, Phycor, and others raised billions of dollar to invest in both independent physician practices and hospital-based physician (HBP) groups. But not even 10 years later, competition for viable practices drove prices above sustainable levels and many PPMCs closed shop. (more…)
Feb 22, 2016 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Uncategorized
Provider-health plan integration in Wisconsin may serve as model for hospitals and health systems nationwide as they establish their own health insurance plans
One interesting new trend in healthcare is the growth in the number of provider-owned health insurance plans. This is a development that could be auspicious for local clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups because most provider-owned health plans want local labs in their provider networks. This includes contracting with their own hospital labs.
In fact, experts at the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions believe that provider-sponsored health plans are “a potentially disruptive industry innovator.” If this assessment plays out, provider-owned health insurance plans may make big inroads on the market share currently held by insurance industry giants such as UnitedHealthcare, Anthem, Aetna and others. (more…)
Feb 19, 2016 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Panel of webinar speakers included several physicians, a pathologist, and a director from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Patient safety continues to be a major factor in the ongoing transformation of healthcare in the United States. As it does, more scrutiny is being given to how medical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups can contribute to improving patient safety.
One example of the heightened scrutiny of patient safety as it relates to clinical laboratory testing services was a recent webinar at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the online healthcare site, Stat. Titled “Medical Tests: Inaccuracies, Risks and the Public’s Health,” this webinar featured nationally-known healthcare experts and policy makers.
Issues of patient safety associated with medical laboratories was a major topic during this webinar, including discussion about concerns associated with the clinical use of laboratory-developed tests. (more…)
Feb 15, 2016 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina expands a website that allows consumers to check the prices charged by physicians; Clinical labs are watching the price transparency trend
Once again, a major health insurer has raised the stakes on transparency of the prices charged by physicians, hospitals, clinical laboratories, and anatomic pathology groups. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) recently expanded a website for its members that lists what the insurer pays to different providers for various clinical services.
The database is searchable. Members have been able to access it since January of 2015. The website lists 1,200 non-emergency procedures, along with the average price that BCBS pays for each one.
Physicians Also Want Price Transparency
Consumers want more transparency of the prices charged by providers. But they are not the only group pushing for it. In a surprising twist, physicians in North Carolina were supportive of having their prices posted on a public website. (more…)
