Sep 14, 2012 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Uncategorized
Mobile testing truck makes DNA testing approachable and accessible to the community while competing with established clinical laboratories
You may have seen recent news coverage of a van cruising the streets of New York City that was offering on-the-spot DNA testing with signs plastered on sides reading “Who’s Your Daddy”—“DNA Testing.” Certainlyany passing pathologist or clinical chemist might do a double take.
According to abc News coverage of the story, passersby can hail the 28-foot recreational vehicle to have their DNA tested. Of course, no testing is performed in the mobile van. Rather, a technician collects a sample from the customer, packages it, and sends it to a laboratory in Ohio for testing. Results come back in three to five days. Prices for the testing service start at $299. (more…)
Jul 30, 2012 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Uncategorized
Clinical labs and pathology groups will want to be prepared for cash-paying patients who demand discounted prices for medical laboratory tests
For decades, it has typically been difficult for a patient to get, in advance of treatment, a specific price from a healthcare provider. This has been true, whether the provider was a hospital, an office-based physician, or an ancillary clinical service. This lack of “price transparency” makes it difficult for patients to shop for healthcare providers—including clinical laboratories—based on the same combination of quality and price that they use to make other important purchases in their lives.
Recently, the Los Angeles Times looked into the arcane world of healthcare pricing. Its reporter was astonished to discover that, in California, it was possible for a cash-paying patient to be charged a price by a hospital that was just 16% of the “patient list price.” Furthermore, this cash price was less than half of what that hospital had negotiated with at least one major health plan! (more…)
Jul 23, 2012 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Uncategorized
New database of diabetes patients opens door for pathologists to improve existing medical laboratory testing algorithms
Integration of healthcare informatics is proceeding at a brisk pace. The latest evidence comes from 11 highly-respected integrated health systems that are pooling data to create the largest, most comprehensive private-sector diabetes registry in the country. It will contain information from 1.1 million diabetic patients.
For clinical laboratory managers and pathologists, this “super diabetes database” demonstrates that many multi-hospital health systems are now willing to pool patient data to make it easier to identify clinical trends. This data will also be used to develop more sophisticated evidence-based medicine (EBM) guidelines—many of which will involve better utilization of medical laboratory tests.
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Apr 28, 2012 | Uncategorized
Here’s what you may have missed this week in the clinical lab world. It was a busy week…
Rapid Progress in Systems Biology Predicted to Increase Multiplex Testing by Clinical Pathology Laboratories
Published: April 27 2012
Trend from reductionism to holistic biomedicine means clinical laboratories and pathologists should expect increased multiplex testing
Systems biology (SB) is a rapidly-evolving area of research that, by itself, could greatly expand the need for multiplex testing performed by clinical laboratories. But systems biology has yet to catch the full attention of either the media or Wall Street.
That may soon change. Despite the complexity of human metabolic systems, experts in systems biology are making progress in identifying the myriad of metabolic channels that collectively can be used to diagnose disease and identify appropriate therapies. These are auspicious developments for medical laboratory managers and pathologists.
Probably no single individual has done more to advance the field of systems biology than Leroy Hood, M.D., Ph.D. In 2000, he co-founded the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) in Seattle, Washington and his colleagues engaged scientists across a number of fields to study the metabolic processes of humans and other organisms.
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IBM Watson Picks Advisory Board—but No PathologistPublished: April 25 2012
Clinical laboratory managers and pathologists have an opportunity to expand the presence of laboratory medicine
IBM (NYSE: IBM) recently issued a press release announcing its new Watson Healthcare Advisory Board (WHAB). The board is comprised of healthcare leaders with a broad range of research, medical and business expertise. Unfortunately, that expertise does not include pathology or specialists in laboratory medicine.
“Watson represents a technology breakthrough that can help physicians improve patient outcomes,” said Herbert Chase, M.D., Professor of Clinical Medicine (in Biomedical Informatics) at Columbia University, in a recent IBM press release. “As IBM focuses its efforts on key areas including oncology, cardiology and other chronic diseases, the advisory board will be integral to helping align the business strategy to the specific needs of the industry.”
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In Recent Months, Health Officials in Alberta Disclose Diagnostic Errors by Two Pathologists and a Radiologist
Published: April 23 2012
Public awaits findings from board of inquiry empaneled by the Alberta Health System
Once more, a province in Canada is dealing with public disclosure of unacceptable rates of errors in anatomic pathology testing services. This time it is the healthcare system of Alberta. Since November, the public has learned about two separate cases of individual pathologists who were determined to have misdiagnosed cancer cases.
But pathology errors turned out to be only part of this story. Public concern in Alberta about the quality of diagnostics services was further heightened by another round of newspaper stories later in December. This time, the news was about the discovery of imaging errors made by a radiologist working in one of Alberta’s hospitals.
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Apr 7, 2012 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Uncategorized
Here’s what you may have missed this week in the clinical lab world. It was a busy week…
Clinical Pathology Laboratories Beef Up Courier and Logistics Services to Deliver More Value to Client Physicians
Published: April 6 2012
Medical laboratories gain competitive advantage by using GPS and real-time vehicle tracking to improve performance of their couriers
Like everything else in laboratory medicine, even such once-simple operational areas as logistics and courier services are becoming complicated—and more expensive. The reasons are familiar to all clinical laboratory managers and pathologists.
For example, sophisticated new diagnostic technologies require that specimens be transported with greater care to ensure that they arrive at the medical laboratory with full integrity.
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Oct 12, 2011 | Laboratory News, Uncategorized
Deal may be just the first of more clinical laboratory acquisitions in the U.S by Japan’s largest medical lab testing company
Pathology and clinical laboratory testing companies continue to go global and last week’s big acquisition in anatomic pathology gave one of Japan’s biggest clinical laboratory companies an important foothold in the United States.
Miraca Holdings Inc. (TYO: 4544.T) of Tokyo, Japan, announced that it would acquire the anatomic pathology business of Caris Life Sciences, Inc., of Irving, Texas. Miraca says the purchase is the first ever by a Japanese company of a clinical laboratory testing company in the United States.
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