Mar 12, 2010 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Australian patients are using an American clinical pathology laboratory for their genetic testing needs
It’s a half-price sale of genetic clinical laboratory tests for 5,000 customers of Australian health insurer NIB. NIB wants to encourage its beneficiaries to screen themselves to identify their genetic tendencies for such conditions as heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, and other diseases with a known genetic component.
NIB has arranged for California-based Navigenics to conduct the genetic tests for a price of US $499. That’s a 50% discount from Navigenics’ usual retail price of US $999.
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Mar 10, 2010 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Appropriate use of clinical pathology laboratory tests to detect and treat cancer will be a scorecard factor
One primary goal of pay-for-performance programs is to reduce or eliminate the variability of care that physicians provide to their patients. Getting physicians to follow the recommended care protocols 100% of the time with 100% of their patients would contribute to improved outcomes, while reducing overall healthcare costs.
Pathologists and clinical laboratory professionals are well positioned to see this variability in care, since they regularly handle the laboratory test requests from client physicians. Over time, they can recognize the good and bad practice patterns of individual doctors, since it is reflected in both the lab test orders and the laboratory test results for that doctor’s patients.
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Mar 3, 2010 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Clinical Pathology Laboratory Customers of Millipore Not Likely to See Many Changes
It only took a few days for Millipore Corporation (NYSE: MIL) to find a buyer willing to outbid Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO). Millipore agreed to be acquired by Merck KGaA (FWB: MRK) of Darmstadt, Germany. Merck will pay about $7.2 billion for Millipore, which tops a reported bid of $6 billion made by Thermo Fisher last week.
Because many clinical pathology laboratories use Millipore’s water purification systems and other products, the pending acquisition of Millipore by Merck represents more consolidation among vendors serving the clinical laboratory industry. The acquisition is expected to close during the second half of 2010.
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Feb 24, 2010 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Uncategorized
In recent years, Newfoundland pathology lab’s errors involving breast cancer testing made headlines
Once again, Newfoundland finds itself in the headlines about healthcare. This time it is not about breast cancer testing problems in its pathology laboratories. Instead, media reports are trumpeting the disclosure that Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams had quietly left the country earlier this month to undergo major heart surgery in the United States.
Danny Williams’ decision caused negative reactions among the press and commentators in the United States and Canada. After all, why would a senior elected official from Newfoundland decide to leave Canada, which has national health insurance, and seek care in the U.S., where the Congress is debating the merits of a national health insurance plan? It was disclosed that Williams underwent a major heart procedure on Thursday, February 4, at an undisclosed hospital in Florida.
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Feb 23, 2010 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Gives human resource departments useful information about salary trends for lab managers
In recent years, the clinical pathology laboratory profession has lacked a reliable national survey of compensation trends for clinical laboratory executives, administrators, directors, pathologists, and managers. That situation may soon change, as two lab organizations are actively collecting the compensation data required to produce a useful national survey of laboratory compensation and benefits.
Slone Partners of Miami Beach, Florida, national recruitment experts for the diagnostic laboratory industry, and The Dark Report are collaborating to produce what is believed to be the nation’s first-ever national survey of trends in compensation, benefits, and perks paid to senior executives, lab administrators, lab managers, pathologists, and Ph.D.s working in the United States.
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