May 11, 2016 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center makes headlines by opting to pay bitcoin ransom in order to quickly regain control of its computer systems
In recent weeks, hackers temporarily shut down MedStar Health—one of the biggest healthcare systems in the Washington, D.C. region—in the latest example of why cyberattacks are a threat not only to hospitals, but to anatomic pathology labs and clinical laboratories as well.
This latest incident is another example of a “ransomware” attack in which cybercriminals lock out computer users from accessing critical records and files. They then extort money by posting a digital ransom note warning users they must pay a ransom amount within a specific number of days if they want the digital key that will release their data.
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Jan 13, 2012 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Expected wave of retirements from clinical laboratories might be deferred for several more years
Popular wisdom has been that, as they hit retirement age, baby boomers will leave the workforce in large numbers. Now a news report says that many baby boomers may defer retirement because of poor finances and too much debt. If true, that may be good news for clinical laboratories and pathology groups across the United States.
After all, baby boomers make up a considerable proportion of the laboratory workforce. Often with decades of experience at a single medical laboratory, they are highly-skilled and have extensive experience in laboratory operations and lab test interpretation. Thus, were the large majority of baby boomers to decide to retire as they reach 65 years of age, it could leave big gaps in staffing at many medical laboratory organizations throughout the country.
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Jul 8, 2011 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Meanwhile, financial pressures mean smaller budgets for hospital laboratories
When it comes to multi-hospital health systems, the biggest are getting bigger. But many health systems are not covering their costs. These were the findings from a recent annual survey of health systems by Modern Healthcare magazine. It confirms what pathologists and clinical laboratory directors see in many regional markets.
As we wrote in Dark Daily on June 29, three factors are driving this growth trend: federal healthcare reform, mandated spending on health information technology (HIT), and the economic contraction from 2007 to 2009 that pushed smaller hospitals to merge with larger health systems. This is the analysis reported by Modern Healthcare. (See Dark Daily, Modern Healthcare’sTop 10 Largest Health System Rankings also Reveal Nation’s Largest Hospital-Based Laboratories, June 29, 2011.)
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Sep 10, 2008 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Pathology
One of the nation’s most prestigious newspapers recently recognized the importance of phlebotomy. The Washington Post reported that one school in our nation’s capital has phlebotomy students train on live humans rather than practice with oranges.
With the title “They’re So Vein: Tapping a Job Market,” The Washington Post did a feature on career opportunities in phlebotomy and the training provided at Sanz College , in Washington, DC. In the July 14 story, the reporter pointedly noted that many phlebotomy training classes have students practice with oranges-but that’s not the case at Sanz College, which requires each student to perform 42 successful venipunctures on humans before they successfully complete their phlebotomy training course. Each member of the class of 13 adults paid $1,900 for 92 hours of instruction in 12 weeks. In that time, the students are expected to complete the 42 venipunctures, mostly on each other.
Sanz College has only offered the phlebotomy training program since December. It recognized the strong demand for phlebotomists. In the article, Ron Sandler, a Corporate Director at Sanz, said, “We identified a market need for phlebotomists in the greater metropolitan area. As our population in the country as a whole [gets] grayer and older, there’s need for more and more [laboratory] testing as people get ill and need to get diagnosed.” The school offers two-year degree programs in computer and information sciences, English language and literature, medical assisting, and medical office management. It has an enrollment of 525 students, 76% of whom are women.
According to The Washington Post, the individuals participating in the phlebotomy class this summer came from a variety of backgrounds. There was a 60-year-old math teacher who had moved to the D.C. area from India and a 34-year-old medical assistant who had relocated from Eritrea. Also attending were 52-year-old car salesman who left New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, a 32-year-old bank teller, and a 26-year-old college graduate. Each one wanted to learn a marketable skill in healthcare, an area where jobs are available and demand for phlebotomists will stay strong for years to come.
Demand for phlebotomy training is evidently strong in the Washington, DC area. The story noted that Northern Virginia Community College had already filled all of its 16 phlebotomy places for its fall semester training.
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They’re So Vein: Tapping A Job Market
