Sep 7, 2011 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Clinical laboratory managers are often part of the ER’s process improvement team
Hospital emergency rooms (ER) across the country are intensifying their focus on improving patient safety and reducing errors. The cost of malpractice lawsuits filed after errors in emergency rooms is a major reason why growing numbers of hospitals are initiating formal programs to identify and eliminate the source of errors and wrong care provided to patients.
It probably won’t surprise most pathologists and clinical laboratory managers to learn that diagnostic errors are one significant source of malpractice claims that result from care provided by hospital emergency rooms, which can often be chaotic and overcrowded. Recently, The Wall Street Journal reported that a large percentage of medical errors in hospitals—and the resulting malpractice suits—occur because of mistakes in the emergency room. Studies of closed claims show that 37% to 55% of the malpractice suits are attributable to diagnostic errors. (more…)
Aug 26, 2011 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, News From Dark Daily
Experts in pathology and clinical laboratory informatics to gather in October in Pittsburgh
One respected expert in pathology informatics says that a “major sea change” is underway in pathology informatics. The pace of this transformation is steady and pathology groups should be responsive to these developments.
These are the opinions of Bruce Friedman, M.D., Active Emeritus Professor of Pathology at the University of Michigan Medical School and President of the Pathology Education Consortium (PEC), in an exclusive interview with Dark Daily. He recommends that anatomic pathology laboratories need to step up and respond to remain competitive.
“Right now all of the action in the field revolves around digital pathology, stated Friedman. “Many new companies are entering the field, including system integrators. In earlier times, the emphasis was placed on slide scan times and the quality of images. Now there is much greater emphasis on end-to-end integration and workflow. (more…)
May 27, 2011 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Mobile health devices can allow physicians to consult with pathologists in real time
Mobile-health technology (mHealth) is the hot ticket with physicians. The advent of mobile computing, smartphones, and iPad-types of devices are fueling a strong demand by physicians for mobile apps that can help them receive alerts, stay informed of patient progress, access lab test results, and contact patients.
This is a swift-moving trend and clinical laboratory managers will want to develop information technology (IT) strategies to serve this keen interest by physicians to use their mobile-health devices to order medical laboratory tests and receive laboratory test results.
(more…)
Apr 1, 2011 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
That’s not news to pathologists, who often see how physicians mis-order or mis-interpret clinical laboratory tests
Each month, one out of seven Medicare patients is injured or killed by their healthcare providers. These medical errors cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars each year. And, that doesn’t even include the cost of follow-up care for the injured patients who survive.
Those and other conclusions are part of a recently released study by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) titled “Adverse Events in Hospitals: National Incidence Among Medicare Beneficiaries.”
(more…)
Mar 25, 2011 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Clinical pathology laboratories will keep busy interfacing their LISs to these EMRs
Tis the season of electronic health records (EHR), now that both hospitals and physicians can qualify to earn incentives from the federal government when they implement these solutions and meet “meaningful use” criteria.
It is possible for individual hospitals to receive incentives totaling as much as $2 million for implementing a certified EHR. This is powerful motivation for cash-strapped hospitals. For that reason, pathologists and clinical laboratory managers of hospital laboratories can expect to be busy ensuring that their laboratory information system (LIS) interfaces properly with the EMR of their parent hospital.
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