Jun 1, 2009 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Health minister characterizes reports of 20% to 30% error rates as highly exaggerated
Questions about a possible high rate of errors in breast cancer testing done in the Canadian province of Quebec surfaced last week. Government health officials were forced to publicly acknowledge that they had received a report in April of a limited study that indicated an error rate of between 15% and 20% in hormone receptor testing, and an error rate as high as 30% in HER2/neu testing.
Following the first news reports of this situation last Thursday, Quebec health officials scrambled to respond to public concerns. In response to calls for the Health Ministry to release the full report to the public, Quebec’s Health Minister, Yves Bolduc, convened an extraordinary Sunday meeting that took place yesterday. He met with pathologists and oncologists from the province to review the details of the report on errors in breast cancer testing and determine a course of action.
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May 27, 2009 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Effort to notify and test as many as 10,555 patients is under way
Reforms in the healthcare system are requiring fundamental changes in how hospitals and other healthcare providers, including clinical laboratories, report medical errors. At the same time, consumers are tracking the quality differences between providers and insisting on more accountability for medical errors.
These points were highlighted in a Dark Daily e-briefing on March 11, 2009, titled “Medical Errors Become a Headline News Item.” At that time, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) had made public the discovery of multi-year problems at VA clinics in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and Augusta, Georgia. At both sites, improper procedures with diagnostic equipment had been identified. In both situations, the problems meant that thousands of patients may have been exposed to infection.
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May 26, 2009 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Modern Healthcare’s list of Top Ten Hospital EHR Vendors Has Insights for Lab Managers
Published data indicates that about 90% of the nation’s hospitals have implemented an electronic health record (EHR) system. This remarkable statistic has direct implications for clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups, since typically 70% or more of a patient’s permanent health record is comprised of laboratory test data.
However, the 90% EHR adoption rate among the nation’s hospitals masks a more provocative truth: only a limited number of hospitals and health systems have implemented an EHR system that is fully integrated and presents a complete patient health record in real time. Thus, many hospitals are using EHR systems that fall far short of allowing clinicians to work exclusively with a complete paperless health record.
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May 8, 2009 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Last week in New Orleans, the 14th Annual Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management took place, with more than 450 senior laboratory administrators and pathologists in attendance from 11 nations across the globe. It was an upbeat gathering, despite the economic downturn being felt by hospitals, health systems, and laboratories in many countries.
Some of that optimism stems from the fact that many laboratories continue to do well-clinically and financially. That was the case with three strategic management case studies presented at the Executive War College:
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May 6, 2009 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Baystate harvests annual savings of 20%+ from simple strategies and steps
In today’s depressed economy, hospital laboratories are scrambling to control costs, reduce unnecessary spending, and get more for every dollar they spend. That is why the constantly-rising cost of reference tests and send-out referrals are now a prime target for laboratory budget-cutters across the United States.
Every laboratory’s reference/send-out test program is a potential budget-buster, for three reasons familiar to every lab director.
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