Dec 8, 2009 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Top labs are leveraging Lean Six Sigma to Boost Performance and Profits
Clinical laboratories and pathology groups using Lean Six Sigma methods are blowing right past the dismal economy and posting strong improvements in operations and financial performance. In fact, at their most innovative, these laboratories are developing new global “best practices” in how they use Lean and Six Sigma.
Both Stegall and Sprick will share the hottest developments in how labs are benefiting from Lean Six Sigma.
“Laboratory professionals will be surprised at how fast Lean Six Sigma methods are transforming three areas of the lab,” stated Susan Stegall, Managing Partner at Sprick, Stegall and Associates, a laboratory management consulting firm based in Charlotte, North Carolina. “We see signs that the most proficient of these laboratories are performing at a ‘best practices’ level.
(more…)
Sep 28, 2009 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Dark Daily interviews leading market maker in used and refurbished lab analyzers
Used laboratory analyzers and systems are in demand across the United States, but the economic recession is less a factor in this market than would be expected. To find out if bargain-hunting pathologists and lab executives are snapping up refurbished analyzers and instrument systems during these tough economic times, Dark Daily caught up with one of the nation’s market makers in used and refurbished laboratory equipment.
Meet Rob Rankin, President of Michigan’s Rankin Biomedical Corporation. Rankin has sold refurbished lab equipment for over 15 years. “Laboratory equipment and instrument systems form the foundation of any clinical laboratory,” notes Rankin. “For that reason, buyers of refurbished equipment want quality and reliability along with a price that generates huge cost savings when compared to other equipment purchase options.
(more…)
Sep 8, 2009 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
3,000 pathologists gather to hear just-published studies and learn about the newest assays
DATELINE: FLORENCE, ITALY—As many as 3,000 pathologists from nations across the globe have gathered in Florence this week for the 22nd Annual European Congress of Pathology. Your Dark Daily Editor is here to give a presentation and learn about the most important new trends in pathology and laboratory medicine.
This large conference offers a rich menu of topics and a multitude of speakers. As to be expected, almost all sessions are about clinical services and advances in diagnostic technologies that enhance the ability of pathologists to diagnose disease. However, the patient safety trend—although not purely a clinical issue—has been a common theme here this week. Few presentations are delivered that don’t include some comments about patient safety.
(more…)
Sep 4, 2009 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Applying principals of analytic chemistry to advance value of histopathology
In Bergamo, Italy, a vision of “patient first” anatomic pathology is under construction in a unique way. At the corporate headquarters of Milestone Medical, Founder, President and self styled “Chief Dreamer” Franco Visinoni is actively investing to develop pre-analytical tools and products specifically designed to support same day—or faster—diagnoses by pathologists.
This week, your Dark Daily Editor Robert L. Michel visited Visinoni in Bergamo to learn, first-hand, about this company which has a rather low profile in the United States.
(more…)