Sep 25, 2013 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
If enacted, this fee cut is predicted to cost medical laboratories €316M Annually and eliminate about 8,000 jobs in that nation
Clinical laboratories here in the United States are not alone in their struggle maintain quality as declining reimbursements from private and government health programs force cost-cutting measures. In France, medical laboratories have learned that they will soon see a sizeable cut in reimbursement paid to them for lab testing services.
This summer, France’s Cour des comptes (French Court of Auditors) called for cutting tariffs to medical laboratories by 7.5%, according to a report published by The Connexion.
Price Cuts Justified by Overutilization of Medical Laboratory Tests (more…)
Jan 30, 2013 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations, News From Dark Daily
Speakers lay out clear path for medical laboratories at the 11th Annual Frontiers in Laboratory Medicine
DATELINE: Birmingham, England—Pathology laboratories in the United Kingdom are undergoing change at an unprecedented pace. The impetus for change comes from both a shift in how medical laboratories will be paid, as well as the regional integration of medical laboratory services, which is occurring in communities throughout the nation.
These two powerful trends were given strong emphasis by speakers during the first day of the 11th Annual Frontiers in Laboratory Medicine (FiLM) conference, Jan. 29 and 30. What makes these two trends quite profound is that one trend revises—in a significant manner—how pathology laboratories will be paid going forward. In turn, that affects the ability of individual medical laboratories to access needed capital to acquire new instruments and new diagnostic technologies. (more…)
Jan 9, 2013 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations, News From Dark Daily
Pathologists and medical laboratory managers will take up these issues at the upcoming Frontiers in Laboratory Medicine Conference in Birmingham, England on January 29-30, 2013
Medical laboratory testing in the United Kingdom is experiencing change at an accelerating rate. These changes reflect ongoing reforms within the National Health System (NHS), which is itself dealing with increased demand for healthcare services in the face of limited budgets.
That means providers in the United Kingdom—including pathology laboratories—are being asked to deliver more clinical services even as budgets are held constant or even reduced. There are also calls for all providers of clinical services to become more innovative in ways that improve the quality of patient services while reducing the overall cost of care. (more…)
Dec 21, 2012 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Restructuring of hospital laboratories is an effort by government health programs to achieve economies of scale and, thereby reduce the cost of medical laboratory testing in England and Australia
Hospital-based clinical laboratories in both England and Australia are being closed by government health programs. These moves are intended to further consolidate medical laboratory testing into larger regional lab facilities and achieve lower costs through economies of scale.
This is being done at hospitals located in communities where the economies of scale don’t quite support the local provision of full-service clinical and pathology testing. Following announcements that a local hospital laboratory is to be downsized or consolidated, there is often pushback from community members and unions representing healthcare workers, including clinical laboratory scientists. (more…)
Dec 14, 2012 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Evolving imaging technology could begin to replace some traditional autopsy methodologies and encourage an increase in the number of autopsies performed
New imaging technology may give pathologists in the United Kingdom a new way to perform non-invasive autopsies. It is another example of how long-standing clinical practices can be transformed by the capabilities of newly developed technologies.
Leading experts within the field of post-mortem cross-sectional imaging in Britain have recommended that England’s National Health Service (NHS) introduce alternative techniques for performing non-invasive autopsies. A review of current procedures in the NHS system showed that alternative autopsy methodologies offer important advantages. In some circumstances, the non-invasive approach could replace traditional autopsy methods. (more…)
