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

August 2011

Consequences of Underfunding Lab Test Services

HOW LONG CAN IT TAKE FOR A HEALTHCARE SYSTEM to underfund clinical lab testing and anatomic pathology services before this ongoing financial erosion becomes visible in the form of systemic quality problems with lab tests? I believe the United States is now on the path to learning the answer to this question. As you will …

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Congress Again Considers Co-Insurance for Lab Tests

CEO SUMMARY: Congressional cost-cutters are putting the 20% patient co-pay/coinsurance requirement for lab testing back on the table. The added complication this year is that the new Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction is mandated to produce its own list of cuts to the Medicare program. This is in addition to the normal budget cycle …

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Bostwick Laboratories Puts Facilities on Market

CEO SUMMARY: Events are unfolding rapidly at Bostwick Laboratories, Inc., of Glen Allen, Virginia. In recent months, the company has listed its facilities in Arizona, Tennessee, New York, and Virginia for sale or lease. In July, it agreed to pay a civil fine of $129,000 to settle a consent judgement involving hazardous waste violations at …

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Myriad Wins Federal Appeal In Important Gene Patent Suit

IN THE CLOSELY-WATCHED COURT CHALLENGE involving gene patents, Myriad Genetics, Inc., of Salt Lake City, Utah, recently won a favorable decision from the federal appeals court. However, legal experts believe that the plaintiffs are likely to ask the Supreme Court to review the case. It was July 29 when the United States Court of Appeals, …

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How One Pathology Group Survived Its First RAC Audit

CEO SUMMARY: Last summer, InCyte Pathology in Spokane, Washington, found itself facing demand letters from the recovery audit contractor (RAC) responsible for that region. The RAC auditor was questioning claims for technical component (TC) services and seeking repayment from InCyte Pathology. It took three months and plenty of dogged determination for the InCyte team to …

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Why Canada Has Growing Shortage of Pathologists

CEO SUMMARY: In Canada, it is known that the supply of pathologists and laboratory physicians has diminished since 1998. Further, a federal program that measures patient wait times for certain surgical and imaging procedures does not measure how long patients wait for anatomic pathology test results. Authors of a recent study point out that—lacking data …

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August 15, 2011 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”

Last Friday, the acquisition of Southern Diagnostic Laboratories, Inc., of Birmingham, Alabama, was announced by Solstas Lab Partners of Greensboro, North Carolina. Steve Boyd, who is the Founder and CEO of Southern Diagnostics, will become a Senior Vice President at Solstas. Revenues at privately-held Southern Diagnostics were reported to be $18.9 million in 2009. MORE …

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