Aug 10, 2012 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing
Goal is to maintain community pathology services while expanding subspecialty pathology expertise to offer more laboratory testing services to physicians
Two of Washington State’s largest anatomic pathology groups announced their intention to merge earlier this week. When completed, the combined pathology supergroup will number 36 board-certified pathologists and will have large histology laboratories in both the western and eastern regions of Washington.
The merger will bring together the pathologists of InCyte Pathology of Spokane with Eastside Pathology Incorporated of Bellevue. Although InCyte has 25 pathologists and Eastside has 11 pathologists, leaders at both pathology groups told Dark Daily that each group considers this a merger of equals. This is one key to understanding why this merger is happening. (more…)
Aug 3, 2012 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, Management & Operations
Medical labs and pathology groups using Sunquest LIS products likely to see positive changes from Sunquest’s fourth change in ownership since 2001
In what is likely to be the biggest deal in clinical laboratory and pathology informatics for this year, Roper Industries, Inc. (NYSE: ROP), of Sarasota, Florida, will acquire Sunquest Information Systems, Inc., of Tucson, Arizona. The purchase price is an impressive $1.42 billion dollars and the deal was announced on Monday this week.
Roper Industries will get a lot for its money. Sunquest holds a significant share of the nation’s market for laboratory information systems (LIS). Sunquest has also built a substantial market share in anatomic pathology informatics, anchored by its CoPath and PowerPath products.
Sales Price of $1.42 Billion for Sunquest and Its Clinical Lab Software
What some may consider an eye-popping sales price of $1.42 billion for Sunquest demonstrates that investor interest in all aspects of the clinical laboratory testing marketplace remains strong. In its second quarter conference call, executives at Roper Industries told the financial analysts that, during 2013, they expect Sunquest to generate $140 million in EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization). If true, that would indicate that the sales price is based upon approximately a 10-times multiple of Sunquest’s EBIDTA. (more…)
Jun 29, 2012 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, Management & Operations
Price transparency expected to encourage competition among healthcare providers, including medical laboratories
Before consumers visit a clinical laboratory, they can now check the “fair” price of medical laboratory tests. New websites have sprung up that make it easy for consumers to find what experts consider to be fair market prices for each type of lab test, as well as for other medical procedures and healthcare services.
Pathologists should think of the well-known “Kelly Blue Book” that has been the price authority for prices of new and used automobiles for decades. These new medical price websites are easy to use and make it quick for a consumer to find “fair” prices for common clinical laboratory test and medical procedure.
These new web-based companies are organized to serve the needs of consumers who are enrolled in high-deductible health plans (HDHP). For an individual, an annual deductible can be as high as $2,500—and as much as $5,000 for a family. Thus, clinical laboratory managers should not be surprised that consumers are actively price-shopping before they visit their laboratory to have a specimen collected.
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Jun 27, 2012 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement
Study evaluated the Western European market for in vitro diagnostic manufacturers
Are clinical laboratories in the United States and other developed nations around the world capable of meeting the expected surge of medical laboratory testing that is expected to come as large numbers of people age into their 60s and 70s? That is a question which has yet to be answered with much confidence by leading healthcare experts.
Recently a respected research firm offered its best guess at what lab specimen growth rates may be and its predictions may surprise many pathologists and clinical laboratory managers. At the same time, the right answer to this important question is critical for lab administrators when planning strategy.
It Takes Years to Expand Capacity of a Clinical Pathology Laboratory
That is because it typically requires years to expand the capacity of a medical laboratory organization. Then there is the challenge of hiring additional pathologists, Ph.D.s, and laboratory scientists at a time when many developed countries already report an acute shortage of trained medical laboratory professionals.
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Jun 20, 2012 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing
Business Intelligence software now allows for real-time data capture, analysis and evaluation of medical laboratory operations
For clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups across the nation, the latest use of middleware is for business intelligence. This is a brand-new trend, as only first-mover and early adopter medical laboratories have acquired and currently use some type of middleware solution that delivers business intelligence.
One-by-one, laboratory informatics companies are crafting middleware products specifically designed to deliver business intelligence to their customers and clients. Business Intelligence (BI) is a computer-based approach to collecting and analyzing business data. A flurry of activity in the laboratory informatics sector reinforces the importance of health IT and healthcare analytics in an increasingly competitive medical laboratory testing market. (more…)
Jun 5, 2012 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing
More consolidation in the clinical laboratory and pathology testing industry
It was announced yesterday that MEDTOX Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTOX), of New Brighton, Minnesota, will be acquired by Laboratory Corporation of America (NYSE:LH) of Burlington, North Carolina. The purchase price is approximately $241 million and represents a 37% premium over Medtox’s closing price of $19.70 on Friday, June 1.
Significantly, LabCorp’s purchase of MEDTOX removes one more independent laboratory company from the market. This continues the trend of medical laboratory consolidation that has marked the lab testing industry for the past 25 years. (more…)
