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

August 2023

IVD Companies Launch New Assays, Analyzers, Automation

In Vitro Diagnostics, Laboratory Equipment / By Donna Marie Pocius

Steep declines in SARS-CoV-2 test revenue were reported by the top in vitro diagnostics (IVD) companies in Q2 2023 earnings compared to a year earlier. For some of those firms, the coronavirus testing drops equate to billions of dollars in lost revenue. In response to the decreasing demand for COVID-19 testing, IVD manufacturers are scrambling …

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August 21, 2023, Intelligence: Late-Breaking Lab News

Late Breaking Lab News / By Scott Wallask

New research about ownership of physician practices will be of interest to anatomic pathologists who operate their own businesses. According to an analysis by the American Medical Association (AMA), “Physicians are less likely to work in a private practice [today] than 10 years ago due to economic, administrative, and regulatory burdens that have driven physicians …

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Actions Pathologists Can Take to Protect Their Income

TDR Insider / By Robert Michel

Given that pathology reimbursements are always on the chopping block and labor costs are at all-time highs, it’s understandable that anatomic pathologists today feel a threat to their livelihoods. The Panel of National Pathology Leaders is pointing out steps to protect pathologists’ income that include carefully determining fair market value under Medicare Part A contracts …

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Provider Price Transparency Trend Has New Twist

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

IT’S NOT JUST PATIENTS WHO ARE TYPICALLY UNABLE TO SEE PRICES FOR THEIR MEDICAL CARE IN ADVANCE OF SERVICE. Guess who else is unhappy that they cannot access the prices charged by hospitals, physicians, and other providers? It is self-insured companies and unions! Bloomberg recently reported on multiple court cases where a self-insured company or …

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Big Employers Sue Payers over Price Transparency

Clinical Laboratory Trends, Lab Risk & Compliance, Laboratory Billing / By Robert Michel

CEO SUMMARY: Feeling they’ve been denied access by insurance companies to price data about medical claim payments, self-funded employer plans and unions are taking their health insurance companies to court. This battle over access to prices may have implications for providers, such as clinical labs, required by federal laws to publicly post prices for their …

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Actions Pathologists Can Take to Protect Their Income

Anatomic Pathology, Pathology Trends, People / By jpschlingman

CEO SUMMARY: Pathology groups may feel their income is under attack from lower Medicare reimbursement rates and rising practice costs. But steps to protect that income can include carefully determining fair market value under Medicare Part A contracts with hospitals and paying close attention to what constitutes “usual, customary, and reasonable” fees. GIVEN THAT PATHOLOGY …

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Guerrilla Kaizen Events Bring Rapid Change and Cost Savings

Laboratory Management, Lean Six Sigma / By Kristin Althea O’Connor

CEO SUMMARY: Lean Six Sigma principles are familiar to clinical laboratory and pathology leaders. But a lesser-known offshoot called “guerrilla Kaizen” aims to rapidly identify inefficiencies and make improvements—an approach that may appeal to labs interested in independently tackling problems. This briefing outlines the steps behind guerrilla Kaizen events. LEAN SIX SIGMA METHODS ARE A …

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Smaller Labs Must Verify Z-code Arrangement with Lab Companies

Lab Intelligence, Lab Marketplace, Lab Risk & Compliance, Laboratory Billing, Managed Care Contracts / By Virchow

EDITOR’S NOTE: Virchow is written by anonymous insiders working within the managed care world. The column aims to help clients of The Dark Report better understand the decisions, policies, and actions of payers as they manage their laboratory networks, establish coverage guidelines, process lab test claims, and audit labs. PLENTY OF HOSPITAL-BASED OR SMALLER CLINICAL …

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Lab News Briefs: Labcorp, Tufts, Informa, HIMSS, Sanford, Fairview

Clinical Laboratory Trends, Lab Intelligence, Lab Marketplace, Laboratory Management / By Scott Wallask

Labcorp Buys Tufts’ Lab Outreach IN OUR LAST ISSUE, WE REPORTED THAT LABCORP HAD ACQUIRED the lab outreach services of two health systems in Oregon. Then, earlier this month, the Burlington, N.C.-basedCnational lab company inked another laboratory outreach business, this time with Tufts Medicine in Burlington, Massachusetts. In a news release issued on Aug. 3, …

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Digital Pathology Sales Put Gestalt on Inc. 5000’s Fast Growth List

Digital Pathology, Lab Marketplace, People / By Scott Wallask

Digital pathology workflow provider Gestalt Diagnostics earned a place on the Inc. 5000 2023 list of the fastest growing private companies in America. Rarely do companies in the clinical laboratory space grow fast enough to make the Inc. 5000 list. The 2023 compilation ranks companies on their growth from 2019 to 2022. Gestalt’s sales growth …

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