Sep 19, 2016 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
New molecular diagnostics lab has latest-generation molecular- and gene-sequencing systems to support efforts to deliver precision medicine to local patients
LEBANON, N.H.—This part of upstate New Hampshire may be rural and peaceful, but residents in this region are getting cutting-edge medical laboratory testing services from the clinical laboratory at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) that include state-of-the-art molecular diagnostics and genetic testing.
Last week, Dark Daily Editor Robert L. Michel was at DHMC to deliver a Grand Rounds lecture to the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, tour the lab, and meet with the pathologists, residents, and the clinical laboratory team. It was an opportunity to see how an academic medical center in a rural area is responding to all the changes happening in healthcare today. (more…)
May 23, 2016 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
By rethinking how their medical labs relate to health insurers, physicians, and patients, a handful of progressive lab companies are enjoying increased revenue while also lifting patient and payer satisfaction
There is widespread agreement across the clinical laboratory industry that it is becoming ever more difficult to have health plans reimburse claims for common tests, molecular assays, and genetic tests in a reliable and consistent manner. Many lab companies report that they are experiencing high rates of denied claims. Moreover—even for claims reimbursed by payers—the amount paid will vary on claims for the same type of lab test.
“Essentially, on this point, the consistent theme we hear from many lab companies—particularly those labs with a menu of proprietary, specialized molecular and genetic tests—is that it is now almost a crap-shoot to submit lab test claims to many payers and see timely and predictable reimbursement for those claims,” stated Robert L. Michel, Editor-In-Chief of Dark Daily’s sister publication, The Dark Report. “One could say that, today, the function of billing patients and payers for clinical lab testing has become financial quicksand for most labs. By following traditional coding, billing, and collection practices, in today’s healthcare market, they find themselves sinking steadily deeper in this financial quicksand.” (more…)
Mar 21, 2016 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, News From Dark Daily
Medical laboratory sales reps selected as winners will each receive a $3,000 prize and an expense-paid trip to the Executive War College for the awards ceremony
Never before has the profession of laboratory medicine had a national achievement award for sales professionals who are a primary source of service between their clinical laboratory organizations and the physicians who order medical laboratory tests.
That is all about to change on April 28, 2016, when the winners of the first-ever National Lab Sales Excellence Awards will be announced. This new recognition program is being sponsored by The Dark Report, sister publication of Dark Daily. The winners of these awards will be announced at the 21st annual Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management before an audience of as many as 900 lab managers, administrators, and pathologists. (more…)
Mar 2, 2016 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Management & Operations
Robert L. Michel, Editor-in-Chief of The Dark Report, was recognized with the W.A.D. Anderson award for his contributions to the profession of pathology and laboratory medicine
DATELINE—Miami Beach, Florida: What better time to be here on Florida’s trendy South Beach than February, when winter’s chilly winds blow across much of the United States. That’s one reason why a record crowd of pathologists assembled at the Fountainebleau Hotel to attend the 40th annual “Review and Recent Practical Advances in Pathology” that took place here on February 15-19.
The conference addressed such hot topics in anatomic pathology as new predictive markers and prognostic markers in surgical pathology and recent developments in the field of cytology. This meeting is produced by the Pathology Department at the University of Miami’s Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. It is a Monday-through-Friday event, designed to allow attendees ample lecture time with some opportunities to get outdoors and enjoy the weather and the beaches. (more…)
May 6, 2015 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations, News From Dark Daily
Primary themes were healthcare’s transition away from fee-for-service and how innovative medical laboratories are delivering more value with lab testing services
NEW ORLEANS, LA.—Two clear themes for clinical labs and pathology groups emerged from yesterday’s opening presentations at the 20th annual gathering of the Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management.
Transitioning from Fee-For-Service to Value-based Reimbursement Programs
Theme one is that the pace of transformation within the U.S. healthcare system is accelerating. In his opening remarks, Executive War College Founder Robert L. Michel warned medical laboratory professionals that they must not allow their lab organizations to be unprepared or unresponsive to the changes now unfolding across the nation’s healthcare system.
In particular, Michel reminded the more than 850 lab executives and pathologists in the audience that fee-for-service payment for clinical laboratory tests and anatomic pathology services will not remain the dominant form of reimbursement for much longer. “This market trend is aptly described as ‘volume to value,’” noted Michel. “For decades, labs maximized revenue and operating profits by maximizing the volume of specimens that they tested. Those days are coming to an end. Healthcare will increasingly want lab testing services to be high value. These lab services will be paid as part of a bundle, or included in the different forms of global payments and budgeted payments that are made to integrated care delivery organizations, such as ACOs and patient-centered medical homes.” (more…)
