News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

Hosted by Robert Michel

News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

Hosted by Robert Michel
Sign In

University of Michigan National Study Finds Nearly Half of Seniors Surveyed Purchased At-Home Medical Tests and Most Plan to Buy More

Clinical laboratory executives and pathology leaders may want to develop strategies for supporting the growing numbers of at-home screening and diagnostic test users Findings of a national poll conducted by the University of Michigan (U-M) exploring consumers’...

read more

CDC Enlists Five Commercial Medical Laboratories to Bolster Avian Flu Testing Capacity in the United States

Move comes following criticism from public health experts over the federal agency’s difficulties creating clinical laboratory tests for COVID-19 Amid the ongoing outbreak of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) bird flu virus, the US Centers for Disease...

read more

Brigham and Women’s Hospital Researchers Develop Blood Test That Enables Rapid Diagnosis of LVO Stroke in Non-hospital Settings

New technique could allow emergency responders to determine severity of LVO stroke while patient is still in the ambulance Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Massachusetts say they have developed a clinical laboratory test that can quickly determine...

read more

Iranian Study Shows Staggering Carcinogenic Risk in Hospital Laboratories from Occupational Exposure to Deadly Chemicals

Study found highest incidences of occupational carcinogenesis among clinical laboratory and histology technicians, followed by pathologists It has been known for years that formalin (a form of formaldehyde used as a disinfectant and preservative in the handling of...

read more

University of Missouri-Kansas City Study Finds Colorectal Cancer Cases Up 500% among Children

Trend will likely lead to physicians ordering more clinical laboratory screening tests for cancer among all age groups, including young patients Upticks in colorectal cancer cases among younger populations, as reported in recent news stores, is an issue that has...

read more

Mass General Brigham Joins with Best Buy Health to Create Country’s Largest Hospital-at-Home Program

Clinical laboratories with mobile phlebotomy programs are positioned to benefit as demand for at-home blood draws increases Hospital-at-Home (HaH) models of remote healthcare continue to pick up speed. The latest example comes from the 793-bed Mass General Brigham...

read more

Keio University and Broad Institute Researchers Identify 18 Bacterial Strains That Could Help Patients with Gastrointestinal Illnesses

Findings could lead to new therapies and clinical laboratory biomarkers for detecting and defeating antibiotic-resistant bacteria Once again, new research shows that human gut bacteria (microbiota) may be useful in fighting antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections....

read more

Genetic Tests Are Detecting Prevalence of Bird Flu Virus in US Wastewater and Allowing Officials to Track its Spread

Though PCR clinical laboratory testing is widely used, some scientists are concerned its specificity may limit the ability to identify all variants of bird flu in wastewater Wastewater testing of infectious agents appears to be here to stay. At the same time, there...

read more

Washington University Researchers Uses Medical Laboratory Test Results and Big Data to Find Accelerated Aging and Risk of Early Cancer in Young Adults

Study shows that computer analysis of clinical laboratory test results has improved greatly in recent years Studies using “big data” continue to show how combining different types of healthcare information can generate insights not available with smaller datasets. In...

read more

Scathing Report from Former Health Minister Finds England’s NHS Plagued by Long Wait Times, Crumbling Infrastructure

Declining health of UK’s population also affecting performance of the country’s national health service, report notes England’s National Health Service (NHS) is “in serious trouble” due to long waiting times, outdated technology, misallocated resources, and numerous...

read more

Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard Studies Use of Polygenic Risk Scores to Evaluate Genetic Risk for 10 Diseases

Though not biomarkers per se, these scores for certain genetic traits may someday be used by clinical laboratories to identify individuals’ risk for specific diseases Can polygenic risk scores (a number that denotes a person’s genetic predisposition for certain...

read more

ECRI Study Finds Errors During Testing Processes Are Responsible for Most Diagnostic Errors

Researchers note that many sources of errors associated with diagnostic testing involve how providers order tests and how specimens are handled ECRI (Emergency Care Research Institute), a non-profit organization that focuses on healthcare quality and patient safety,...

read more

South Korean Study Finds Fecal Microbiota Transplants May Help Patients with Gastrointestinal Cancers That are Resistant to Immunotherapies

Study findings could lead to improved treatments for broad range of cancers and the need for microbiome testing by clinical laboratories to guide clinicians Is it possible that there is a connection between an individual’s gut microbiota and the ability to fight off...

read more

Lancet Study Finds Urgent Need for Improvement in Clinical Laboratory Prostate Cancer Screening Worldwide

Ongoing increases in the global number of prostate cancer cases expected to motivate test developers to deliver better screening tests to pathologists and clinical lab scientists No less an authority than the peer-reviewed healthcare journal The Lancet is drawing...

read more

10-Minute Blood Test Uses Digital Images and AI to Determine Sepsis Risk for Emergency Room Patients

With FDA clearance already approved, hospital infection control teams and their clinical laboratories may have another diagnostic tool for diagnosing blood infections Controlling sepsis in hospitals continues to be a major concern in nations around the world,...

read more

Kaiser Family Foundation Reports on Prior Authorization Denial Rates by Medicare Advantage Plans

Another report finds nearly half of all healthcare systems planning to opt out of Medicare Advantage plans because of issues caused by prior authorization requirements Prior-authorization is common and neither healthcare providers (including clinical laboratories) nor...

read more

Some Hospitals Under Financial Stress Ask Patients for Payment of Certain Procedures in Advance of Care

Request for money upfront comes at a time when many patients already struggle with medical debt   In its reporting of healthcare trends gathering momentum, a national newspaper caused quite a stir this spring when it published a story documenting how some hospitals...

read more

Cyberattack Renders Healthcare Providers across Ascension’s Hospital Network Unable to Access Medical Records Endangering Patients

Inability to access clinical laboratory test results forced hospitals to suspend critical procedures and surgeries causing major disruptions to healthcare Cyberattacks continue to shut down the ability of hospitals to process orders for clinical laboratory tests,...

read more

Protesters Outside UnitedHealthcare Headquarters Allege Company Systemically Denies Care

Are ongoing protests and federal investigations into health plan practices evidence that customers have reached a tipping point? It is not common for beneficiaries to get arrested in front of their health plan’s headquarters. But that is what happened in July, when...

read more
;