Jun 11, 2010 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Times reporter looks at issues affecting accuracy of different breast cancer tests
Pathologists should consider a recent story about breast cancer testing in the New York Times to be a warning flag, similar to the warning flags that the Coast Guard flies along the coast to warn of an approaching hurricane. The subject of the story was “unclear tests” used to identify whether a breast cancer patient is a candidate for certain therapeutic drugs.
The New York Times story was in response to the public release of new guidelines for processing specimens used in estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor (ER/PR) testing for breast cancer. The guidelines were announced by the College of American Pathologists and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) on April 19, 2010. One goal of the new guidelines is to improve “the accuracy of immunohistochemistry (IHC) testing for the expression status of estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptors (PgR) in breast cancer” as performed by the hundreds of anatomic pathology laboratories in the United States which perform ER and PR testing.
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Jun 9, 2010 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Use of plasma technology will give healthcare workers another way to clean their hands
Even Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon would be amazed to learn that plasma technology is about to deliver a way for healthcare workers to sanitize their hands without using soap and water! Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers will be interested to learn about a novel device that bathes hands with plasma as a way to reduce the spread of microorganisms by healthcare workers, including superbugs like MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant strain of Staphylococcus aureus.
Prototypes already exist and are designed to be simple for healthcare workers to use. They would simply stick their hands into a small box that bathes the hands with plasma that is specifically engineered to zap bacteria, viruses and fungi. The plasma used in the hand sanitizer is a gas similar to that used in fluorescent lights, neon signs, and televisions, but works at room temperature and pressure.
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Jun 2, 2010 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
GS1 Global Location Numbers are expected to improve supply chain performance
There’s a new global healthcare standard that will change how hospitals, clinical laboratories, and pathology groups get supplies from vendors. This standard will be launched as part of the GLN Healthcare Sunrise. It is an example of how the globalization of healthcare is about to take another significant step forward.
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers should take time to learn about GS1 Global Location Numbers (GLNs). This will be a new standard and the GS1 Healthcare US Workgroup has declared that, as of December 31, 2010, all those involved in health care supply chain operations are expected to adopt the use of GLNs in lieu of custom account/location numbers. The first step is to standardize healthcare location information by December 31, 2010. This event is referred to as the GLN Healthcare Sunrise.
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May 21, 2010 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
The Dark Report and MLO Magazine provide scholarships to the next generation of medical laboratory managers
With so many clinical laboratory managers and administrators of the Baby Boomer generation making retirement plans, it is timely for laboratories to address succession planning in their organization. One essential step is to intensify training for all up-and-coming medical laboratory managers.
As its contribution to this effort, The Dark Report collaborates with MLO Magazine to regularly publicize and offer scholarships to each year’s Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management for a select number of young clinical laboratory managers. This year, one scholarship recipient was Doreen Ng, NCA-CLCP (for Clinical Laboratory Compliance Professional). She is the Manager of Quality Management and Compliance for Baylor College of Medicine Medical Genetics Laboratories in Houston, Texas.
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May 17, 2010 | Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Here in Glasgow, Scotland, clinical laboratory directors share successes with TLA and Lean
Use of total laboratory automation (TLA) in clinical pathology laboratories now often involves use of process improvement and Lean techniques. That’s one insight that emerged from a special extended session on medical laboratory automation and process improvement at the Association for Clinical Biochemistry’s annual Focus meeting in Glasgow, Scotland last week.
As a trend, it shows how process improvement and Lean are becoming important management tools for pathologists and clinical laboratory managers. In vitro diagnostics (IVD) manufacturers have recognized this development and often provide expertise or consulting assistance on process improvement methods to help medical laboratory managers. The goal is to use process workflow redesign and Lean Six Sigma methods to design the most efficient way to handle specimens, then support this work flow with the best laboratory automation solutions.
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