Nov 18, 2009 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Increased Test Volumes in Recent Years Trigger an Important Review of Coverage and Funding for Pathology Testing Services
DATELINE: MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA—Pathology testing is under the gun in Australia. Fast-rising utilization of pathology testing over the past decade has caught the attention of health system policy makers. They are concerned about the funding and clinical service implications in downstream years should these growth rates in the volume of tests performed continue to increase at comparable rates into the future.
At the same time, a five-year master contract between the Australian national government and a representative group of national pathology and clinical laboratory associations that has brought some predictability in year-to-year spending on pathology testing expired on June 30, 2009. This contract is known as the Pathology Quality and Outlays Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU process was launched in 1989 and continued for 20 years. Since expiring in June, this MOU has not been renewed and the pathology profession in Australia is waiting to learn what new approach may be proposed by government health officials.
(more…)
Nov 16, 2009 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Provides doctors with fast access to care pathways and diagnostic rules
Most pathologists and laboratory professionals in the United States are unaware of a unique clinical resource called the “Map of Medicine”. This was started in the United Kingdom and utilizes evidence-based medicine (EBM) guidelines in the care pathways it makes available to clinicians who visit the web site.
Map of Medicine shows how the Internet is already changing the way some physicians access knowledge and use it to advance their clinical practice. The Map of Medicine also illustrates a way that evidence-based medicine guidelines can quickly become available to clinicians. Given the pre-eminent role that laboratory testing plays in diagnosis, pathologists and clinical laboratory managers will want to learn more about why physicians find it useful to access the Map of Medicine as they work with patients.
(more…)
Nov 11, 2009 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Man kills his estranged wife, then himself after shooting his way into the laboratory
Yesterday, in Tualatin, a quiet suburb city near Portland, Oregon, a gunman entered a laboratory facility owned by Legacy MetroLab and shot his estranged wife. He then killed himself. Two other individuals in the laboratory were injured, including a man admitted to a local hospital with multiple gunshot wounds.
Dark Daily believes this is the second reported incident of a shooting attack within a clinical laboratory facility in the nation’s history. It is a reminder that clinical laboratory managers and pathologists should have contingency plans for dealing with a wide range of unexpected situations and emergencies.
(more…)
Nov 9, 2009 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Hospital/commercial lab JV finds success in competitive Salt Lake City market
DATELINE: SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH—Since its formation less than two years ago, MountainStar Clinical Laboratories, LLC, has more than doubled in size. This unique laboratory outreach joint venture is a partnership between MountainStar Healthcare and Pathology Associates Medical Laboratories (PAML).
To learn more about this fast-growing joint venture, last week, Dark Daily traveled to Salt Lake City to visit MountainStar Clinical Laboratories, LLC . First, some background about this partnership.
(more…)
Nov 6, 2009 | Digital Pathology, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Essential to protect pathology reimbursement with skilled management
Despite a slow economy, new technology continues to flood into anatomic pathology. These two contradictory forces make it essential for pathologist business leaders and their practice administrators to respond appropriately to preserve reimbursement and maximize the compensation of pathologists in the group.
Dollars are not flowing to labs as easily as before, and money left on the table can be the difference between a lab’s success and failure. Dark Daily recently caught up with Lance Beard, administrator at HistoPath, the largest provider of anatomic pathology services in South Texas, to talk about the challenges laboratories are facing in the current landscape.
(more…)
