Aug 21, 2008 | Digital Pathology, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
There’s a hot new trend emerging among a handful of the nation’s more sophisticated and tightly-managed laboratories. These innovators have hit on a “lab operation home run!” They are combining Lean process improvement methods with the latest-generation automation solutions and highly-automated analyzers. As a result, they are achieving mind-blowing, amazingly fast turnaround times while simultaneously boosting med tech productivity and slashing operational costs. At the same time, such labs are avoiding the pitfall of “automating bad work practices.”
These pioneering laboratories are demonstrating that laboratory automation has come of age-particularly when the laboratory uses Lean Six Sigma methods to configure an instrument footprint and specimen flow through the lab, thus taking maximum advantage of automated systems and analyzers. This is a radical change from just five and eight years ago, when lab automation was less capable and most labs knew very little about Lean and Six Sigma approaches.
At the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas, the hematology department was among the first labs to explore the benefits of digitized images, produced by automated systems. It was a beta site for the early automated microscope that is now often seen in hematology labs. Process improvement methods, including Lean techniques, were used to re-engineer work flow so that the performance of automated analyzers and digitized slide images was moved to a very high level of throughput and quality. At this year’s Lab Quality Confab in Atlanta on September 24-25, UTMB Automation Supervisor Laurie Emanuel will present a case study on how her laboratory has combined automation, middleware, digital imaging, and process improvement methods to deliver faster, higher-quality results, even as the number of med techs needed in the department’s analytical line declined from three to just one.
Combining new, sophisticated automation systems with the Lean mindset is transforming the histology laboratory at Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Exciting new automation solutions are arriving in histology and this laboratory, proficient in Lean techniques, is developing unique work flow and work process approaches that are already exceeding industry norms for turnaround time, productivity, quality, and cost-effectiveness. Leo Serrano, Director of Laboratory Services at Avera, will be sharing these secrets at Lab Quality Confab.
Another area where automation is beginning to alter long-standing work processes is microbiology. At BC Biomedical Laboratories in Surry, British Columbia, the microbiology laboratory installed a new automated specimen processing/preparation system, then watched in dismay as work backed up at the instrument (Proving the truth of that industrial engineering adage: “Don’t automate bad work processes.”). According to Scott Henwick, M.D., Clinical Director, Microbiology at BC Biomed, the micro team then turned to the help of an experienced veteran of Lean. Microbiology workflow was reconfigured to incorporate the best applications of “pull,” takt time, and small batch/single piece workflow. Those simple changes unlocked the productivity of the automated system and the micro lab is posting continuous improvements in all important metrics. Dr. Henwick will discuss this case study at Lab Quality Confab in a session titled: “Why Automation Bollixed Efficient Workflow in Microbiology and How Lean Fixed It.”
These three examples embody this new trend of innovative laboratories combining, blending, and integrating automation solutions with Lean, Six Sigma, and process improvement principles. Laboratory managers, pathologists, and others wanting to understand this powerful new opportunity in lab management will find the second annual Lab Quality Confab on Quality Management in Diagnostic Medicine to be a comprehensive resource. Lab Quality Confab will take place on September 24-25, 2008 at the Hilton Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia.
More than 50 sessions and topics will be presented, covering the full range of laboratory and pathology operations, ranging from specimen collection and courier logistics to using Lean with automation in the high-volume core laboratory. Poster sessions will take place, and national awards and prizes totaling $6,000 will be awarded. To see topics, speakers, and all the events at Lab Quality Confab, visit http://www.labqualityconfab.com.
To register for Lab Quality Confab, visit http://www.labqualityconfab.com.
Finally, laboratory vendors are waking up to this highly-productive intersection of matching their automated systems and sophisticated analyzers with Lean, Six Sigma, and similar process improvement techniques. At Lab Quality Confab, management master classes will be conducted on these topics by experts from Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics , Siemens Diagnostics , Sysmex , BD Diagnostics , Abbott Diagnostics , and Beckman Coulter , among others.
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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.
Jul 28, 2008 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Although officials at Stanford Hospitals & Clinics decline to publicly discuss the pending sale of its laboratory outreach business, Laboratory Corporation of America (NYSE:LH), during a conference call with analysts executives last week, confirmed that the sale is imminent.
“I can tell you that we signed a definitive agreement with Stanford in July to acquire their outreach business and we expect that to close on August 1st,” stated LabCorp President and CEO David King, in response to questions from analysts during the phone call which took place on July 24.
Last Friday, in response to press inquiries, a Stanford Hospital spokesman denied claims by union officials that as many as 350 laboratory employees would lose their job as a result of the sale. He stated that only 200 employees had received lay-off notices earlier this spring and that “to date, over half have been hired or offered positions by the purchaser, and we expect that number to grow.”
Even as the LabCorp acquisition of the Stanford Hospital laboratory outreach business moves to a conclusion, there has been no official word on the other major laboratory business known to negotiating a sale. It is believed that Carilion Clinic has narrowed the list of buyers down to just one: LabCorp. Carilion officials had placed their laboratory business up for sale last winter. (See Dark Daily, April 15, 2008.)
Several other laboratory acquisitions are unfolding. One deal just announced is the sale of UroPath, Inc. of Arlington, Texas, to HealthTronics, Inc. , of Austin, Texas. This transaction price is $7.5 million and involves the anatomic pathology condominium laboratory business developed by UroPath. Another laboratory sale is the purchase of Parkway Clinical Laboratories, Inc. of Bensalem, Pennsylvania, by Rosetta Genomics Ltd. (Nasdaq: ROSG) of Jersey City, New Jersey. Purchase Price is $2.9 million.
Laboratory owners, shareholders, and pathologists with partnerships in pathology group practices who are interested in the laboratory merger & acquisition market will have the opportunity to get up-to-the minute intelligence on these and other laboratory acquisitions. On Wednesday July 30, Dark Daily and The Dark Report will host “Lab and Pathology Mergers & Acquisitions: Essentials that All Lab Owners and Buyers Should Know.” It will be conducted at 1 p.m EDT/12 p.m. CDT/11 a.m. MDT/10 a.m. PDT. Click here to register and get additional information.
Speaking on the audio conference are:
1) Doug Brown, Managing Director of Wachovia Securities, who will provide a concise overview of the factors supporting higher valuations for laboratory assets, along with a discussion of recent noteworthy lab acquisitions, and,
2) Attorney Anthony Konkoly, Esquire, and Member of McDonald Hopkins, based in Cleveland, Ohio. Konkoly will provide useful information about the mistakes lab sellers often make, and how to fix those issues before offering the laboratory for sale. He will also provide laboratory owners with some proven recommendations on how to minimize tax consequences from the sale and maximize the net proceeds from the sale for the lab’s owners.
In closing, the upcoming audio conference will include ample question and answer time for participants, to allow lab owners and sellers personal access to the perspectives and expertise of these two veteran lab industry deal-makers.
THE DARK REPORT AUDIO CONFERENCE DETAILS
DATE: Wednesday, July 30, 2008
TIME: 1 p.m. EDT; 12 p.m. CDT; 11 a.m. MDT; 10 a.m. PDT
PLACE: Your telephone or speakerphone
COST: $245 per dial-in site (unlimited attendance per site)
TO REGISTER: Go Here http://www.darkreport.com/Audio/7.30.08/Laboratory-Pathology-Mergers-Acquisitions-Sell-and-Buy.htm or call 1-800-560-6363 toll-free
Jul 18, 2008 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Kaizen events are winning favor in a growing number of laboratories and hospitals. These events-typically several days to one week in duration-provide a simple, fast platform to drive significant improvement in clinical services and operational performance.
At the Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS) in Charlotte, North Carolina, the laboratory used a Kaizen event to implement major improvements specifically to the laboratory outreach intake operations in the pre-analytical area of the lab. Following just a few days of planning and implementation, the CHS laboratory achieved a substantial reduction in processing time and an equally dramatic reduction in errors and mishandling of outreach specimens.
“Kaizen” is the Japanese word that describes continuous improvement. A Kaizen event consists of three steps. During step one, a cross-disciplinary team of knowledgeable participants in the laboratory or hospital is identified and, prior to the Kaizen event, each individual is asked to study a particular work process or operational problem that will be the target of the Kaizen event. Step two brings this cross-disciplinary team together for several days or one week. During this time together, the team analyzes the situation, identifies opportunities to improve, implements the recommendations, and fine-tunes the changes. Step three is to sustain the improvements achieved during the Kaizen event.
Kaizen events are appealing to many laboratories and hospitals for a simple reason: the concentrated effort invariably produces powerful results that require only a few days to achieve. Another attractive aspect of the Kaizen event is that the lab can bring in an experienced consultant to lead the event and get a big outcome for a small outlay.
Lab managers and pathologists interested in learning how to use Kaizen events will have the opportunity to hear Tom Hassett, Vice President at Carolinas HealthCare System discuss his lab’s successes with this lab management tool in a session titled “Kaizen Event Project Transforms Lab Outreach Intake and Accessioning.” Hassett’s session will be one of several presentations about Kaizen events at the upcoming Lab Quality Confab, scheduled for September 24-25, 2008, at the Hilton Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. Experts from Beckman Coulter Corporation will conduct a management master class titled “Using Kaizen Bursts to Improve Performance, Simplify Workflow, and Slash Costs,” providing the essential knowledge needed to successfully use Kaizen events in the laboratory and the hospital.
In addition to Kaizen events, more than 50 presentations at Lab Quality Confab will provide lab managers and pathologists with opportunities to learn and master all aspects of Lean, Six Sigma, and rapid process improvement. With growing numbers of labs and hospitals accelerating their use of Lean and Six Sigma, Lab Quality Confab is the perfect resource for knowledge, networking, and the latest lab case studies. Last year, more than 275 attendees from seven countries participated, making this the world’s largest conference devoted to rapid process improvement in laboratories and hospitals. To see topics, speakers, and all the events at Lab Quality Confab, visit http://www.labqualityconfab.com
To register, visit http://www.labqualityconfab.com/register.htm
Related Information:
Full program information and speaker agenda for Lab Quality Confab:
Complete details about the Lean-Six Sigma Poster Presentations, National Trophies, and Cash Awards, along with Poster Presentation Application and Abstract forms:
Four Easy Ways to Register:
1. Register ONLINE
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Jul 8, 2008 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
With demand driving prices to record levels for clinical laboratory companies and anatomic pathology practices, merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the lab industry continues to grow across the United States.
Just two weeks ago, Sonic Healthcare, Ltd. announced that it was purchasing Clinical Laboratories of Hawaii, LLP for an estimated $121 million dollars. That sale is expected to be completed by the end of third quarter this year. (See Dark Daily, June 30, 2008)
Still unannounced as of this date are the winning bidders for the laboratory outreach business of Stanford University Medical Center and the laboratory testing division of Carilion Clinic. Earlier this year, officials from both institutions disclosed that their laboratory businesses were up for sale. (See Dark Daily, April 15, 2008)
At this year’s Executive War College in May, attendees participated in the lab industry’s first-ever conference on “Mergers & Acquisitions in Clinical Laboratories and Anatomic Pathology,” a program designed to bring potential sellers of clinical labs, pathology groups, and hospital lab outreach programs together with experts in law, valuation, negotiation, and financial planning.
Two speakers attracted particular attention: Doug Brown, Managing Director of Wachovia Securities and attorney Antony Konkoly, Esquire, of McDonald Hopkins.
Brown provided a concise review of the factors supporting higher valuations for laboratory assets and discussed details of some recent noteworthy lab acquisitions. According to Brown, lab owners need to recognize that there is no simple way to establish a single value for their laboratories because different buyers will place different values on a lab company’s existing assets and future growth prospects.
Brown also discussed details of the 2007 acquisition of AmeriPath, Inc. by Quest Diagnostics, Inc. for approximately $2 billion. With annual revenue of $750 million, it was estimated that the multiple paid in this transaction was as high as 17 times EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization). Brown pointed to several unique factors, including market timing, that supported AmeriPath’s top-of-market valuation at the moment the deal was inked. He also explained that these same factors were not likely to be seen in the laboratory industry again anytime soon.
In this same session, Antony Konkoly offered some important M&A do’s and don’ts based on his considerable experience representing various parties in the sale of laboratory businesses, the establishment of laboratory joint ventures and the formation of new lab companies.
If you weren’t able to participate in this exciting new M&A conference, here’s another opportunity to hear Doug Brown’s take on the current state of mergers and acquisitions in laboratory and pathology.
Attorney Antony Konkoly, Esq. will once again join Doug Brown in this discussion. From Konkoly, you’ll learn about the mistakes lab sellers often make, and how you can fix those issues before offering your laboratory for sale. You’ll also get several proven recommendations on how to minimize tax consequences and maximize the net proceeds from the sale.
Whether you’re a lab owner or pathologist, you won’t want to miss this comprehensive new audio conference. Join Dark Daily and The Dark Report as they present, “Lab and Pathology Mergers & Acquisitions: Must-Have Essentials To Learn Before You Buy Or Sell A Lab,” on Wednesday July 30, beginning at 1:00 p.m. EDT (10:00 a.m. Pacific) and running for 90 minutes.
Don’t miss this special audio conference and your chance to listen to and ask questions of these two veteran lab industry dealmakers.
Register on or before July 18, 2008 and you’ll save $50. So don’t wait-Register today! http://www.darkreport.com/Audio/7.30.08/audio-register.htm
Jun 27, 2008 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Patient-centric e-health services, including personal and electronic health records, remote monitoring of patients, electronic physician-patient communication, and patients seeking health information on-line, represent a new vision of healthcare’s future according to a recent position paper from the American College of Physicians (ACP), in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (more…)
