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

March 2013

Lab Copays Announced by California Exchange

Managed Care Contracts / By Joseph Burns

CEO SUMMARY: California will operate one of the nation’s largest health insurance benefit exchanges, as defined by the Affordable Care Act. Officials recently unveiled details about the exchange, to be called Covered California. Based on bronze, silver, gold, or platinum plan coverage, beneficiaries will be required to pay a copay of between $6 and $45 …

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March 25, 2013 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”

Late Breaking Lab News / By Robert Michel

Last month, Dignity Health acknowledged that it is engaged in negotiations to sell its lab outreach business that is based in Stockton, California. The lab outreach program is known as HealthCare Clinical Laboratories and is associated with 294-bed St. Joseph’s Medical Center. The story surfaced after Dignity Health (formerly know as Catholic Healthcare West) notified …

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Tennessee AG Opinion Adds Unease to EHR Donation Issue

Laboratory Compliance / By Robert Michel

ANOTHER STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL (AG) has issued an opinion on the donations of electronic health record (EHR) systems by clinical laboratories to referring physicians. The opinion says that such donations would violate Tennessee state law. The Tennessee AG’s opinion is similar to one issued in November in Washington State by its attorney general. Each of …

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Mass Spectrometry Is Finding Larger Role in Clinical Labs

Laboratory Equipment / By Joseph Burns

CEO SUMMARY: Mass spectrometry is a diagnostic technology that is transforming clinical labs and improving care at a rapid pace. The current generation of instruments is capable of supporting a faster time-to-answer and provides improved accuracy and specificity over many existing methods. For certain clinical assays, mass spec also can cost less per test than …

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Cerner Acquires Lab Automation Company

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

BY NOW, MANY OF YOU HAVE HEARD THE NEWS that Cerner Corporation has acquired Labotix, Inc., the laboratory automation company based in Peterborough, Ontario. That transaction was announced last Monday, March 18. I consider this deal notable because it is an example of how strange bedfellows will be joining forces as healthcare undergoes a radical …

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Anticipating Washington’s Next Blows to Lab Testing

Clinical Laboratory Trends / By Robert Michel

CEO SUMMARY: With the advent of 2013, almost every lab was responding to some type of price cut. Clinical labs are dealing with the sequential, multi-year cuts to the Medicare Part B Lab Test Price Schedule. Anatomic pathology labs are still adjusting to the expiration of the TC Grandfather clause last summer, as well as …

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Mass. AG Coakley Cites Two Labs in 48-Count Medicaid Kickback Case

Clinical Laboratory / By Robert Michel

MASSACHUSETTS ATTORNEY GENERAL Martha Coakley has cited two lab companies in a case involving kickbacks related to drugs of abuse testing. Coakley’s office made the announcement on March 8. Coakley alleges that fees were collected from patients illegally and that prescriptions for medications were illegally issued to patients diagnosed with opiate addiction. Four Defendants Indicted …

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Labs Have Opportunity to ID Sepsis Much Faster

Laboratory Equipment / By Joseph Burns

CEO SUMMARY: In the Northeast, the microbiology department of a four-hospital health system adopted new technology for testing patients suspected of sepsis. Not only did this microbiology lab shorten the time-to-detection, it increased the diagnosis rate for sepsis from 9% to 15%—an improvement in detection of 67%! This effort led to shorter patient stays, improved …

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Urologists Weigh in on Prostate Biopsy Testing

Anatomic Pathology / By Joseph Burns

CEO SUMMARY: Based on an impressive number of 4,230,129 vials collected from 437,937 biopsies, the new study is expected to add fuel to the fire of the ongoing debate about the appropriate number of prostate biopsies physicians should collect and refer to pathology labs for cancer testing. The researchers compared the number of prostate biopsies …

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LipoScience Completes IPO, Raises $44.9 Million from Sale

Clinical Laboratory / By Robert Michel

IT HAS BEEN A WHILE since a laboratory company has successfully completed an initial public offering (IPO). Thus, it is notable that LipoScience Inc., of Raleigh, North Carolina, recently accomplished that feat. On January 24, 2013, Liposcience closed its IPO and raised $44.9 million. It now trades on NASDAQ under the stock symbol LPDX. The …

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