May 9, 2012 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Consumer electronics giant wants to create patient-friendly medical devices and diagnostic kits that will be used in point-of-care settings
Sony is laying groundwork for a major expansion into the world of medical devices, with a particular interest in medical laboratory testing and diagnostic test kits. Experts point to Sony’s new strategy as a sign that prospects in diagnostic testing remain incredibly strong.
Citing unnamed sources, the Israeli business daily Globes printed a story reporting that consumer electronics giant Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE) is actively seeking to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Israeli medical technologies.
Confluence of Electronics and Medical Devices Heats Up Sector
This is a major strategy change for Sony and company officials state that Sony will rely less on consumer electronics as it shifts its focus to other sectors, particularly medical devices and clinical diagnostics, in an effort to revive earnings. This was reported in a story reported by Business Week.
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Feb 29, 2012 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Clinical laboratory managers and pathologists can expect more personalized medicine products and services as biotech industry flourishes
Its gold rush time in biotech. Because of the promise of biotechnology to improve patient outcomes—and deliver lots of good-paying, clean jobs, even states are competing to attract the top scientists and companies who conduct research into genetics, molecular diagnostics, and healthcare informatics.
This is an auspicious trend for the medical laboratory testing industry. Among other things, innovations in biotechnology are expected to find application in clinical laboratory tests that improve the diagnostic capabilities of pathologists. Biotech underpins genetic medicine and will fuel advances in personalized medicine. (more…)
Jan 12, 2012 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement
Payors also are straining to handle new payment requirements under Form 5010, say intermediaries
Across the nation, providers, including clinical laboratories and pathology groups, are holding their collective breath as they wait to see whether implementation of the electronic claim Form 5010 goes smoothly, becomes a disaster, or ends up somewhere between.
Just two weeks into this national transition, experts are predicting that most providers—including medical labs and pathology groups—are likely to see a drop in revenue collections. Worse yet, it is not until the first claim denial forms are received from payors that clinical labs and pathology groups can learn the reasons why different payors rejected these claims.
UNEXPECTED PROBLEMS
“We expected, with a transition of this magnitude, that the industry would encounter challenges,” said Jackie Griffin, Director, Client Services, Gateway EDI, a bill-paying clearinghouse in St. Louis, Missouri. “But in addition to the problems we expected, we’ve seen a lot of unexpected problems too.”
Gateway EDI serves both small and large practices, but has seen that its clients that are small labs and physician practices of 1 to 5 doctors are experiencing more problems than larger provider organizations because the smaller entities lacked the resources to prepare for 5010, Griffin explained. Providers are likely to see less reimbursement in the coming weeks because many claims are being rejected and going unpaid, she said. (more…)
Nov 4, 2011 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Private payers taking first steps on a path toward value-based purchasing that could eventually include clinical pathology laboratory testing services
Pay-for-performance just took a leap forward with news that one of the nation’s largest health insurers will link hospital reimbursement to specific quality measures. This development could be a precursor to similar payer initiatives that involve how private payers reimburse clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups.
Indianapolis-based WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP) will revamp the way it reimburses about 1,500 hospitals across the country. In a news story published by Bloomberg Businessweek, Rick Wartzman, Executive Director of the Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University, explained that, going forward, WellPoint wants to base annual payment increases to hospitals using a formula that incorporates the health insurer’s quality criteria, rather than to the quantity of services delivered.
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Sep 28, 2011 | Digital Pathology, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Many in the clinical laboratory and pathology industry will hold their breath as Myriad seeks to derail gene patent challenge by attacking standing of sole remaining plaintiff
There’s news regarding the widely-watched federal lawsuit that challenges the gene patents owned by Myriad Genetics (NASDAQ:MYGN). On September 13, a Federal Circuit panel denied the ACLU’s Petition for Rehearing in this case. Clinical laboratory managers and pathologists following this controversial lawsuit will be interested in this latest development.
Since early this year, there have ongoing legal maneuvers by both sides in this case, which is officially titled: Association for Molecular Pathology, et al v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office et al. 09-civ-4515. It is a high profile lawsuit because of its potential to establish important new legal precedents in how and when genes may be patented. (more…)
