Mar 19, 2007 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
In recent years, we’ve written plenty about one major change in how hospitals and other healthcare organizations undergo accreditation. That is the requirement that: 1) hospitals measure patient satisfaction; 2) that hospitals develop a plan to improve patient satisfaction; and, 3) that by the next inspection, the hospital or healthcare organization demonstrate measurable improvement because of that plan.
This shift in what an accreditation inspection measures is consistent with the goals of employers and Medicare to improve the quality of care, boost patient safety, and, because of better outcomes, lower the cost of care. Hospital-based laboratories and pathology groups have watched their parent institutions take the baby steps needed to survey patient satisfaction and then actively work to improve service.
Now the outcomes from this effort are starting to attract attention. Just a few weeks ago, The Wall Street Journal published an article detailing how hospitals nationwide are using patient satisfaction surveys to expose problems with they way they do business and get suggestions for how they can improve. A survey conducted by Michigan-based hospital chain Spectrum Health in 2004 revealed that staff members were given low marks for helpfulness and attitude towards visitors. It was also learned that patients and their families felt ill-informed about their in-hospital treatment and weren’t given good instructions about how to care for themselves once they went home.
Spectrum took its survey results to heart. It adopted a family-centered health care model, creating a patient and family advisory council to help shape hospital policy. Hospitals conducting patient surveys have found many ways to improve patient care, such as eliminating visiting hours, sending apologies such as flowers or candy to disgruntled patients, having DVD players in waiting rooms, and issuing $25 gas cards to compensate patients for long wait times that required them to return on another day for a test or procedure. Try Googling “Hospital Satisfaction Survey” to see how dozens of hospitals and health systems are conducting on-line patient satisfaction surveys.
Don’t forget that this is also the first year that hospitals will be required to participate in the federal government’s satisfaction survey program to receive full reimbursement from Medicare. The results of patient surveys will be posted on the government’s Hospital Compare Web site. First results are expected to appear on the Web site later this year. It will be the first time that Medicare patients can see how patients ranked their hospitals.
By the way, some of the nation’s most progressive laboratory organizations are already deeply-engaged in measuring patient satisfaction, then using that information to improve and refine their services. During the May 2006 Executive War College, careful listeners in the audience heard a number of case study speakers describe how their laboratories considered improving measured patient satisfaction to be a major strategic goal. Collectively, this is a trend that will raise the competitive bar in the marketplace. That means competitive advantage to laboratories using this tool.
Related Articles:
Patient Satisfaction Surveys Prompting Hospitals To Improve Patient Experiences
If Disney Ran Your Hospital: 9 1/2 Things You Would Do Differently
PS: Hospital measurement of patient satisfaction is about to impact another important laboratory service: phlebotomy. In an upcoming Dark Daily, we will share with you how and why hospital administrators are starting to pay attention to phlebotomy services, with an eye to improving them. It’s an unlikely turn of events for a service that been too often underappreciated!
Mar 13, 2007 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology, News From Dark Daily
With each new advance in molecular diagnostics, local laboratories and pathology group practices find it easier to set up and offer molecular assays to their own clientele. That’s because newer generations of instruments automate steps and make it feasible to support this testing with a relatively small volume of specimens.
Challenges still remain, however. Payer coverage and reimbursement for many molecular assays remain inconsistent and unpredictable. In some cases, laboratories need technical skills which are either difficult to recruit or expensive to hire. Yet, where a molecular assay has clear clinical value, physicians want access to this test, particularly from a laboratory in their own community. It is this value added dimension to a molecular testing program which has helped a number of progressive pathology groups expand market share and revenue.
One such pathology group is ProPath of Dallas, Texas. With 30 pathologists, a cornerstone of its business strategy is to have subspecialist pathologists to serve its clients. Since the inception of molecular pathology, ProPath has reviewed new technologies and assays. It is willing to invest in three dimensions to bring up and offer specific molecular tests. It will acquire the instruments and equipment, it will hire or develop the technical expertise needed to run these tests and consult with physicians, and it will put money into a sales and marketing program to educate physicans and help them use these tests to the advantage of their patients. ProPath’s Executive Director, Krista Cruse, will present a case study at the upcoming Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management and discuss ProPath’s success secrets in building a profitable molecular testing program.
To help both clinical laboratories and pathology group practices identify the best molecular testing opportunities for the marketplace they serve, Mary Steele Williams, COO & Director of Scientific Programs at the Association for Molecular Pathology, Bethesda, Maryland, will speak at the Executive War College specifically on the topic of which molecular assays are heading to market and likely to be both clinically useful to physicians and financially lucrative to the laboratories which offer such tests. In her role at the Association of Molecular Pathology, Williams gets a privileged look at emerging molecular assays, so her advice and insight can be invaluable for any laboratory wanting an insider’s view of today’s market for molecular testing.
Of course, The Dark Report has often written about the emerging business model in anatomic pathology that is now competing with local pathology groups for specimens. That is the specialty esoteric testing company. One of the most recent entrants into this category is RedPath Integrated Pathology of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In the first 24 months of its business launch, it has grown to $5 million per year in revenues. RedPath’s innovation is patented technology that allows it to support both the diagnosis of cancer and the planning of treatment across multiple organ systems. The technology allows RedPath to work from a range of specimens, including traditional chemically-fixed slides, fluid aspirates, and cytology smears. Sydney F. Finkelstein, M.D., the pathologist who developed this technology and became RedPath’s founder, will be at the Executive War College to discuss how RedPath is giving community-hospital pathology groups additional molecular tools that they can use to add value to their client physicians.
As these examples demonstrate, molecular diagnostics and molecular pathology each can offer plenty of upside and opportunity for local laboratories and pathology groups. But there is also risk, because of unpredictable reimbursement and other factors. What is common to the laboratory case studies described above is that these pathology labs did careful market research. Lab directors and pathologists interested in developing a profitable, thriving molecular testing program should reserve a place at the upcoming Executive War College on May 10-11, 2007 in Miami. It’s an opportunity to meet Cruse, Williams, and Finkelstein and get first-hand access to their insights, advice, and recommendations.
PS: To get the latest news and effective strategies dealing with new trends, join us in Miami on May 10-11, 2007 for the 12th Annual Executive War College. You can access the full details using the links below. Take action today to reserve your place.
Early-Bird Discount Registration now available online
Visit: http://www.executivewarcollege.com/
Download Full Program Agenda
You can:
1. Register ONLINE right now; or,
2. Call 512-264-7103. Our friendly staff can register you quickly and easily, as well as answer any questions you may have.
Mar 1, 2007 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
In the heavyweight championship fight taking place between the two blood brothers, Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has just won the next round. Earlier today, Laboratory Corporation of America issued a terse press release titled: “LabCorp Notified by Aetna of Contract Termination.”
LabCorp acknowledged that “it will no longer be a contracted laboratory provider for Aetna Inc. (NYSE:AET), effective July 1, 2007.” LabCorp further disclosed that it expects the loss of its contract relationship with Aetna to be the primary reason why it expects earnings per share in 2007 will decline from a projected $0.16 to $0.12 in 2007. That’s a 25% reduction.
This breaking development is not a total surprise. Quest Diagnostics found itself excluded from almost all UnitedHealth contracts last October (United Health Disrupts the National Contract Status Quo Between the Two Blood Brothers) and from New Jersey-based Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield in January. In both cases, LabCorp had negotiated an exclusive relationship.
Now it’s tit for tat. Quest Diagnostics is likely to announce that it has an exclusive national contract with Aetna, effectively denying LabCorp access to Aetna’s 16 million members. Aetna is one of the five largest health insurance companies in the United States.
Each of these national managed care contracts has implications for clinical laboratory management. That’s because both of the blood brothers want to negotiate a national contract with insurer that include terms designed to exclude regional independent laboratories and hospital laboratory outreach programs. To help lab directors and pathologists stay on top of this emerging trend, this year’s Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management has several sessions devoted exclusively to the latest developments in managed care contracting.
In particular, LabCorp’s new CEO, David P. King, will be discussing how managed care companies are altering their strategies for contracting laboratory testing services. This will be a unique opportunity to hear, first hand, what is likely to unfold in the next 24 months. That’s particularly important, since the developments of the past five months are pointing to a managed care contracting environment which is increasingly excludes independent lab companies and hospital laboratory outreach program in favor of the national laboratories.
Stay tuned to Dark Daily for more updates on both this story and this rapidly unfolding trend. Once LabCorp used its exclusive pact with UnitedHealth to break the managed carecontracting status quo between it and Quest Diagnostics, it set in motion forces which are already propelling the laboratory industry into uncharted territory.
PS: To get the latest news and effective strategies dealing with new trends, join us in Miami on May 10-11, 2007 for the 12th Annual Executive War College. You can access the full details using the links below. Take action today to reserve your place.
Early-Bird Discount Registration now available online
Visit http://www.executivewarcollege.com
Download Full Program Agenda
Four Easy Ways to Register:
1. Register ONLINE
2. Call 800-560-6363. Our friendly staff can register you quickly and easily, as well as answer any questions you may have.
3. Fax this complete registration form PDF to 512-264-0969
4. Mail the one page form with payment to:
THE DARK REPORT
21806 Briarcliff Dr.
Spicewood, TX 78669
© 2007 The Dark Group, Inc
Nov 3, 2006 | Laboratory Pathology, News From Dark Daily
There’s good news about the 2007 Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management! It’s returning to Miami, Florida and will feature a full program numbering more than 40 of the nation’s most innovative laboratory administrators and pathologists.
Executive War College 2007 will take place on May 10-11, 2007. Location will be the InterContinental Hotel. A survey of this year’s attendees had 90% of the respondents asking to return both to Miami and to the Intercontinental Hotel. That’s a solid vote of confidence, so mark your calendars now. Last year’s event was sold out and you don’t want to be disappointed.
Along with news of the location, hotel, and dates, Dark Daily would like to ask for some help from our friends. Each year, the Executive War College provides a showcase of innovative laboratory directors and pathologists to share the cutting-edge management successes of their laboratory organizations. Dark Daily would like to use the power of the Internet to ask for your help, in two specific ways.
First, what topics would you like to have presented at the Executive War College? We encourage you to share your suggestions with us. Think about the challenges, issues, and opportunities facing your laboratory. What types of information and topics would be most valuable for you and your laboratory team?
Second, your suggestions about speakers-including yourself-are most welcome. We work hard to locate some of the industry’s most interesting innovators. You may be among them, so let us know!
In closing, we’d like to remind you to mark your calendar and block May 10-11, 2007. And you can send your suggestions for topics and speakers for Executive War College 2007 directly to Robert at rmichel@darkdaily.com. With a little help from our friends, we will guarantee a crackerjack program, maybe the best ever!
Regards,
Robert & Sylvia
PS: Expect to have more international attendees and networking this year. During Robert’s trip to Argentina last week, both past alumni attendees from Buenos Aires and several laboratory CEOs stated that they have already blocked the dates and will be in Miami on May 10-11.
