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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Mar 28, 2012 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations
NCQA published annual report showing increased rates of screening for most of its HEDIS quality measures and medical laboratory testing often plays a role in these screening activities
For almost a decade now, clinical laboratories and pathology groups have been asked by many private payers to provide laboratory test data for a number of clinical services. In turn, these private health insurers annually submit this data to the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) program managed by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).
Although their medical laboratories regularly feed this data to payers, few pathologists or lab administrators track how HEDIS data is used by NCQA. Thus, it is useful to know that, over the years, HEDIS data provides evidence that better utilization of certain clinical laboratory tests by physicians directly contributes to measurable improvements in patient outcomes across the United States.
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Mar 26, 2012 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Laboratory Pathology, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement
Where hospital margins to be squeezed, that would place hospital laboratories under greater budget constraints
Hospitals are honing in on Medicare’s new value-based purchasing program quality metrics in an effort to improve patient care—and earn reimbursement rewards. Clinical laboratory managers and pathologists will want to track implementation of this program, because it is one further step forward in Medicare’s plan to move away from fee-for-service reimbursement.
As part of its effort to drive quality improvement at U.S. hospitals, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued final rules in 2011 for the first year of its Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program (HVBP). The program is a pay-for-performance initiative that begins in fiscal 2013. Modern Healthcare reported on this story.
“[The HVBP structure] has been very eye-opening to a lot of people because we are not used to being compared that way,” observed Jeff Costello. He is Chief Financial Officer at Memorial Hospital & Health System in South Bend, Indiana. This 526-bed institution is on the latest Thomson Reuters’ 100 Top Hospitals list.
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Mar 16, 2012 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations, News From Dark Daily
Don’t wait another day to register for the 17th Annual Executive War College on Lab and Pathology Management, because today, March 16th, is the last day you can save $100 on your early bird registration. And with seats filling up fast, you risk missing the opportunity to hear more than 80 leading experts on the new financial stresses that clinical labs and pathology groups can expect in 2012.
This information-packed two-day event includes a full range of laboratory management and operational innovations plus strategies for improved profitability. Get a complete list of the topics and speakers we’ve already confirmed. Then take advantage of our early-bird discount (which ends today) and register now. (more…)
Mar 12, 2012 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement
Blame it on employers requiring higher deductibles of employees, often starting at $1,500 per year
Employers continue to increase the amount of deductibles and co-pays in their health benefit plans. This has a direct consequence for clinical laboratories and pathology groups, because it often creates the need to collect more money from patients at the time of service.
A recent survey showed that employers are changing health benefit plans to require workers to pay more money for both insurance coverage and medical care, a story in Modern Healthcare reported. Among such changes to employer-sponsored health plans are higher deductibles, higher premiums, greater employee liability for cost of care, and greater responsibility for health-impacting lifestyle choices.
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Feb 20, 2012 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement
A part of this legislation, the grandfather clause on Technical Component (TC) anatomic pathology services was extended through June 1, 2012.
Last Friday, clinical laboratories got bad news about new cuts to the Medicare Part B medical laboratory test fee schedule. Congress voted on a temporary funding fix to keep Medicare physician fees at current levels for 10 more months and a reduction in lab test fees was one source of the money that Congress used to fund this bill.
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers will be disappointed to learn that the Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS) was cut by 2% when Congress voted on Friday, February 17, to approve a deal to extend the payroll tax cut for nine months. President Obama could sign the bill into law today (Monday, February 20). The cuts to lab test fees are estimated to total $2.7 billion over 10 years.
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