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

April 2008

Courts Uphold Labs’ Challenges on CMS’ Rules

SINCE MARCH 31, THE FEDERAL CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES (CMS) has lost two decisions in two different U.S. district courts. Though each case addressed fundamentally different issues, the rulings were remarkably similar. In both cases, the courts questioned CMS’ failure to properly use federal procedures. We provide analysis on both cases in this …

Courts Uphold Labs’ Challenges on CMS’ Rules Read More »

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

Three San Diego Labs Stop Competitive Bid Demo

CEO SUMMARY: Last Tuesday, a federal judge handed a big court victory to the three plaintiffs in their lawsuit seeking to delay or stop implementation of the Medicare Laboratory Competitive Bidding Demonstration pilot in the San Diego area. In his written opinion, the judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs on three key points and …

Three San Diego Labs Stop Competitive Bid Demo Read More »

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

April 4 Fed Court Ruling Opened Door to Injunction

CEO SUMMARY: Federal Judge Thomas J. Whelan’s ruling on three key legal points on Friday, April 4, was the first court victory needed by three San Diego-area labs in their lawsuit to prevent the Medicare Laboratory Competitive Bidding Demonstration in San Diego from proceeding. Judge Whelan ruled that the three plaintiff labs: 1) did not …

April 4 Fed Court Ruling Opened Door to Injunction Read More »

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

Federal Judge to Look at CMS Rule-Making in Anti-Markup Case

THERE’S BEEN WIDESPREAD INTEREST across the lab industry to news that on March 31, Uropath, LLC, won a preliminary injunction in its case to prevent the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from implementing an anti-markup regulation for pathology services performed at anatomic pathology (AP) condo (or pod) laboratories. However, the injunction was …

Federal Judge to Look at CMS Rule-Making in Anti-Markup Case Read More »

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

Hospital Lab Evolves Into A Consultative Resource

CEO SUMMARY: Every laboratory recognizes it has the knowledge and expertise to become more of a consultative resource to its referring physicians. At 248-bed J.T. Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson, New York, the laboratory director took advantage of administration’s interest in improving laboratory test utilization by creating an enriched program of education and collaboration. The …

Hospital Lab Evolves Into A Consultative Resource Read More »

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

Lab Automation Viewed As Essential Solution

CEO SUMMARY: A merger of three hospitals in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, forced PinnacleHealth’s lab director to find new ways to increase efficiency. A lab automation project helped improve turnaround time and staff productivity and cut costs. The cost savings is about 50 cents per test, which means the lab automation project is saving more than $1 …

Lab Automation Viewed As Essential Solution Read More »

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

Quality Guru Joseph M. Juran Dies Six Weeks Ago at Age 103

HE DESCRIBED THE 20TH CENTURY as the Century of Productivity and expected the 21st Century to be the Century of Quality. Noted quality guru and management consultant Joseph M. Juran, Ph.D., died in his home in Rye, New York, on February 28 at the age of 103. Juran was the second seminal figure in the …

Quality Guru Joseph M. Juran Dies Six Weeks Ago at Age 103 Read More »

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

April 14, 2008 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”

Psychiatry may soon have its first set of objective clinical laboratory blood tests for mood disorders. Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine recently published their findings in Molecular Psychiatry. Working with 11 different genes, they described a “predictive score [that was] developed based on a panel of 10 top candidate biomarkers (five for …

April 14, 2008 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News” Read More »

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

;