Since 1995, Reliable Business Intelligence for Clinical Laboratories, Pathology Groups and Laboratory Diagnostics

September 2003

These Leaders in Lab Management Took Risks

Commentary and Opinion by R. Lewis Dark / R. Lewis Dark

BY NOW THE NEWS IS GETTING OUT. Hospital laboratory administrators and pathologists are learning there now exists a management approach that cuts the average turnaround time from order to verified result by as much as 50% in as few as 12 weeks! If that’s not enough, this management approach will simultaneously reduce trained technical labor […]

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Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filed by IMPATH, Inc.

The Dark Report / Robert Michel

CEO SUMMARY: To the surprise of very few, IMPATH, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. During 2003, most of IMPATH’s key executives departed as different problems within the company became known. IMPATH’s new executive leadership is dealing with a host of difficult issues. Caught up in this situation is Tamtron, the division of IMPATH

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AP’s “High & Mighty” Firms Hit Tough Times

The Dark Report / Robert Michel

CEO SUMMARY: In the years between 1995 and 2002, public companies AmeriPath, DIANON Systems, and IMPATH built revenues and profits at a blistering pace. During this time period, these three firms captured enough market share to do almost $1 billion of anatomic pathology business in 2002. But that run of business success has ended. Each

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Entrepreneur Offers Private Pay Autopsies

The Dark Report / Robert Michel

CEO SUMMARY: For the past 14 years, a non-pathologist entrepreneur has enjoyed a growing business in offering autopsy services to clients willing to pay out-of-pocket. By design, the business is limited to the Southern California region. But demand in that region is enough to regularly engage the autopsy services of six pathologists. Here’s a look

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West Hills Lab Outreach Still Thrives in California

The Dark Report / Robert Michel

CEO SUMMARY: Now in its seventh year, the lab outreach program at West Hills Hospital and Medical Center in Southern California continues to produce significant revenues. The goal was to target physicians’ offices in the medical campus around the hospital and provide them a local laboratory testing option. Funded on a shoestring budget, this outreach

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Brazil’s Lab Industry Gathers in Rio de Janeiro

The Dark Report / Robert Michel

CEO SUMMARY: Healthcare in Brazil remains a free market and thousands of clinical laboratories exist to fill the demand. However, there are early indications that commercial laboratories in Brazil may be on the verge of the same tidal wave of lab acquisitions and consolidation that was experienced in the United States during the past 15

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Healthcare Premiums Climb At Double-Digit Rate for 2004

The Dark Report / Robert Michel

EXPECTATIONS that health insurance premiums will increase by an average of 12% to 15% for 2004 have captured plenty of media attention recently. Employers and health insurers are currently negotiating premiums for 2004. There is consensus among healthcare experts that 2004 will be the fourth consecutive year of double-digit increases in healthcare costs. For the

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“September 29, 2003 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”

Late Breaking Lab News / Robert Michel

There was cautious optimism among lab industry leaders lobbying Congress to stop the proposed 20% co- payment for Part B laboratory testing services. It seems that, over the summer break, Iowa Senator Charles Grassley got a lesson in grass roots lobbying. At a number of town meetings, irate seniors showed up and asked pointed questions

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Changing the Way Laboratories Do Business

Commentary and Opinion by R. Lewis Dark / R. Lewis Dark

I HOPE BOTH PATHOLOGISTS AND LABORATORY ADMINISTRATORS pay close attention to our coverage of early-adopter hospital laboratories and how they are using “Lean” quality management methods to boost performance of their laboratories. These labs are harvesting productivity gains in the range of 30% to 50%, following a training and implementation schedule requiring as little as

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How “Lean” is Benefiting Early-Adopter Laboratories

The Dark Report / Robert Michel

CEO SUMMARY: First steps toward a radical change in clinical laboratory operations are under way in a handful of early-adopter laboratories. This movement is so new that little information about their successes can be published. But the early evidence is compelling. For those labs willing to take the plunge, implementation of quality management systems such

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