R. Lewis Dark
Articles by R. Lewis Dark
Alert! Changes to CLIA Accreditation, CLIA Revisions
MEDICAL LABORATORIES HAVE LIVED WITH THE REGULATIONS FOR THE CLINICAL LABORATORY IMPROVEMENTS AMENDMENTS (CLIA) since they were first implemented in 1992. Over the past 30 years there has been no major revision or updating of CLIA regulations. Nor has there been much change in the long-standing statu…
PAMA Cuts Have Simply Been Kicked Down the Road
PAYMENT RATE CUTS FOR CLINICAL LABORATORY TESTS, called for under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA), have been avoided temporarily—again. A down-to-the-wire bill in Congress to keep the federal government funded into the new year in…
Two Positive Messages to Focus on at Year’s End
Clinical laboratory managers and anatomic pathologists are winding down another tumultuous year for the healthcare industry. It was a year marked by unexpected twists and turns. It was also a year marked by two positive developments for labs. First, the…
Innovations Might Reduce Need for Phlebotomists
ALREADY A SERIOUS PROBLEM PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC, the shortage of trained phlebotomists continues to grow more serious with each passing month. Some clinical laboratories are offering wages of $25 per hour or more and say they cannot attract enough candidates to hire and train for this essential role….
Clinical Laboratory News from North of the Border
In mid-October, Canada’s largest national conference for diagÂnostics leaders took place in Toronto. It was their first gathering since the onset of the pandemic and much is happening with healthcare and medical laboratories in our northern neighbor. The Dark Report was there to identify …
Getting the Jump on Solving Major Lab Issues
Observant laboratory managers and pathologists will note a recurring theme among the business intelligence briefings in this issue of The Dark Report: Solutions to major challenges require proactive steps. A case in point comes…
Consumer Trends, Quality Management, and Labs
TODAY’S HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IS MARKED by uncertainty and unprecedented pressures. Every clinical laboratory and pathology group faces the triple whammy of shrinking budgets, staff shortages, and a rate of inflation that drives up the cost of supplies and salaries. …
You Asked for It. We Organized It.
DESPITE THE EASING OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN RECENT MONTHS, a pre-pandemic normal does not yet exist—if it ever will. Currently, most clinical laboratories, particularly those serving hospitals and health systems, are under the most intense pressure seen in decades….
Labs Face Powerful and Unwelcome Forces
OVER THE PAST 25 YEARS, THERE HAS BEEN WIDESPREAD RECOGNITION THAT HEALTHCARE IN THE UNITED STATES is on an unsustainable path. The obvious argument was that year-over-year increases in healthcare costs would eventually overcome the ability of employers (private health plans) and the government (Medi…
Important Court Rulings & Pending New Federal LawÂ
IMPORTANT THINGS ARE HAPPENING WITH COURT DECISIONS AND PROPOSED FEDERAL LEGISLATION that will affect a substantial number of the nation’s clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups. In this issue of The Dark Report, you’ll be alerted to those developments we th…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXI, No. 14 – October 14, 2024
For the second time in the past 16 months, respected health systems have taken steps to collaborate specifically to advance value-based care. Also, several statewide pilot programs—each involving tens of thousands of newborns—are publishing studies that demonstrate how exome, whole genome sequencing, and rapid whole genome sequencing can deliver both improved patient outcomes and a return on investment.
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