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

Commentary and Opinion by R. Lewis Dark

Congress Raises Stakes in Lab Test Pricing Game

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

EACH OF YOU READERS KNOW that there is always a story behind the story. This is particularly true in Congress and the federal government, where lobbying and influence can often have their own role in shaping how laws and regulations are written. Keep that in mind as you learn more about the new law passed […]

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Pathology Groups Respond to Eroding Finances

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

THESE ARE NOT THE BEST OF TIMES FOR ANATOMIC PATHOLOGY GROUPS. The various Medicare fee cuts enacted in the past couple of years have eroded the financial stability of a substantial number of the nation’s 3,300 independent pathology practices and laboratories. The consequences of eroding finances will become more obvious with each passing month of

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Scrutinizing the Cost of Lab Testing

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

IT SEEMS LIKE THE COST OF LABORATORY TESTING continues to be a high-profile issue. On the pages that follow, you will read two different stories about how the cost of lab testing is undergoing intense scrutiny. This is not an accident. Rather, it shows how healthcare’s evolution is already undermining the traditional payment methods common

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Across the Pond, Lots of Changes in Lab Testing

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

IN BOTH THE UNITED KINGDOM AND EUROPE, plenty of change is unfolding in clinical laboratory and anatomic pathology testing. Our intrepid Editor-in-Chief, Robert L. Michel, spent last week in England attending our annual Frontiers in Laboratory Medicine conference, now in its eleventh year. He came back with interesting information on developments in several European nations

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When Should Labs Become ‘Patient-centric?’

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

AS THE AMERICAN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM MOVES FORWARD with its transformation, several trends make it advisable that clinical labs and pathology groups consider the importance of becoming “patient-centric.” First, patients are being incentivized to become price shoppers and select their providers—including laboratories—on the basis of price and quality. Second, more patients have insurance with high deductibles

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Good Information Drives Good Decisions

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

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS DEMONSTRATE that a long-standing business adage remains as true today as when many of us first learned it decades ago. I am referring to the pithy piece of management wisdom often written as: “You need good information to make good decisions.” It is a trait held in common by well-run corporations and effective

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Charting Your Lab’s Course for 2014

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

WITHOUT QUESTION, CLINICAL LABS AND PATHOLOGY GROUPS will be confronted with tough challenges during 2014. Across the nation, lab executives and pathologists tell us that it is no longer “business as usual.” What I find most interesting about the feedback pouring into our offices is that the Affordable Care Act is not a factor for

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Medicare Overstepped With Proposed Rules

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

FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW, officials at the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have signaled their unhappiness with the status quo in how coverage guidelines and prices must be established for clinical laboratory testing and anatomic pathology services. These pages have chronicled some of the analyses and reports commissioned by CMS over the

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Coming Soon to Your City: More Hospital Mergers

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

UPON THE COMPLETION OF THEIR MERGER AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER, Baylor Health Care System and Scott & White Healthcare became the largest not-for-profit health system in Texas, boasting $8 billion in assets and annual revenue of about $6 billion. Now known as Baylor Scott & White Health, the system operates 43 hospitals and 500

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Attention Pathologists: Change Is Coming!

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

IT’S BEEN A BUSY FOUR WEEKS for your editor at THE DARK REPORT. He has traveled to meetings, conducted site visits at a variety of large and small companies serving clinical labs and pathology groups, and even participated in strategic planning sessions for some labs and industry vendors. I asked my colleague to tell me

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