March 2005

“March 7, 2005 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”

It was good news for the nine-year old boy with the rare brain tumor he named “Frankstein.” On midnight, Monday, February 14, 2005, the family received a telephone call from the surgeon who performed the biopsy on February 2, 2005. He confirmed that the biopsy was negative for cancer. What is interesting about the lengthy […]

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Baylor University Lab Serves ED Needs With STAT Lab

Clinical Laboratory / Robert Michel

CEO SUMMARY: Throughout the United States, hospital laboratories are working to meet ever-increasing lab testing demands by emergency department physicians. In response, many labs debate the benefits of a point-of-care testing (POCT) solution versus operating a rapid response lab in or next to the emergency department. Baylor chose the latter, and reports that it was

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National Reference Labs Undergoing Changes

Clinical Laboratory Trends / Robert Michel

CEO SUMMARY: Maybe it’s a coincidence. More likely it is a response to changes in the reference/esoteric marketplace. Specialty, Esoterix, ARUP, and Mayo have each recently reassessed their core strategies and are shifting their business emphasis. Because three of these four companies are profitable, it is not an industry segment under duress. Rather, this shift

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Medicaid’s Exploding Costs Threaten Tight State Budgets

Laboratory Billing / Robert Michel

MEDICAID FINANCING in Tennessee has reached a crisis point. But Tennessee is not alone. Soaring Medicaid costs are stressing state budgets across the country. According to figures issued by the National Association of State Budget Offices, total state and federal spending on Medicaid services will top $300 million for 2004. More remarkably, that is 50%

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Profit Squeeze Pressures Specialty Laboratories

Laboratory Management / Robert Michel

CEO SUMMARY: Despite much success and milestones at Specialty Laboratories during the past 36 months, it has yet to achieve the most important goal of all: net profits. One reason is familiar to all laboratory administrators and pathologists: with its existing fixed overhead and cost structure, Specialty Labs’ key goal is to increase specimen volume

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Spectrum Owns MEDex, Comments on Trends

Clinical Laboratory Trends / Robert Michel

CEO SUMMARY: Spectrum Laboratory Network recently completed its acquisition of MEDex Laboratories, Inc. of Kingsport, Tennessee. It is becoming a regional laboratory powerhouse, challenging Laboratory Corporation of America in North Carolina and establishing a sales base in Atlanta, long-dominated by Quest Diagnostics Incorporated. It is also adding managed care contracts. HAVING COMPLETED ITS ACQUISITION of

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FL Medicaid Gives Up On Statewide Lab Contract

Managed Care Contracts / Robert Michel

CEO SUMMARY: With the withdrawal of the December 13, 2004 “Invitation to Negotiate” (ITN), Florida’s Medicaid bureaucrats seem to have thrown in the towel—at least for the moment—on the effort to give a single laboratory company an exclusive three-year contract to provide laboratory testing services throughout the state. Labs in Florida are relieved, but remain

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