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

Commentary and Opinion by R. Lewis Dark

Clinical Labs and Whole Human Gene Sequencing

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

CLINICAL LABORATORY ADMINISTRATORS AND SENIOR EXECUTIVES would be well advised to pay close attention to our lead story about the whole human genome sequence collaboration just announced by the pathology department at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and GenomeQuest, Inc. (See pages 3-6.) Together, the two organizations intend to be among the first in […]

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

Clinical Labs and Whole Human Gene Sequencing Read More »

Early Warning on LDTs and Pre-Authorization

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

ANY PATHOLOGIST OR LABORATORY MANAGER who considers this to be a quiet time in the laboratory testing industry is setting themselves up for a rude awakening in the not too distant future. Several stories in this issue are written specifically to call attention to major developments in the profession of laboratory testing. First is the

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

Early Warning on LDTs and Pre-Authorization Read More »

Labs Can Turn the Tables on the Payers

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

PRE-AUTHORIZATION OF GENETIC AND MOLECULAR TESTS is now on the radar screen of the nation’s larger health insurance companies. In most circumstances, payer pre-authorization requirements serve to exclude many smaller providers from access to patients. But local labs have a chance to guarantee their place as a preferred, in-network provider of expensive genetic tests. As

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

Labs Can Turn the Tables on the Payers Read More »

Tough Financial Times Ahead for Hospital Labs

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

THIS YEAR’S MASSIVE HEALTH REFORM LEGISLATION has a ticking financial time bomb for hospital laboratories. Starting October 1, Medicare Part A hospital fees will be reduced by 0.4% for the federal fiscal year 2011. This is expected to reduce Medicare Part A spending by $440 million in 2011 compared to 2010. As go the finances

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

Tough Financial Times Ahead for Hospital Labs Read More »

Steps Toward the Globalization of Lab Medicine

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

PATHOLOGISTS AND LABORATORY EXECUTIVES in this country generally don’t pay much attention to what is happening to clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology services in other countries. That is understandable, since there is lots of change unfolding in the lab testing marketplace within this country. On the other hand, if it is true that globalization of

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

Steps Toward the Globalization of Lab Medicine Read More »

Lessons In Lab Testing From Ireland

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

IN REAL TIME, PATHOLOGISTS ACROSS THE GLOBE CAN WATCH the meltdown of the Irish Health Service Executive’s ambitious effort to revamp cervical cancer screening services in the country. It reorganized these screening services in order to achieve its declared goal of reducing death rates in Ireland from cervical cancer to rates at or below the

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

Lessons In Lab Testing From Ireland Read More »

Texas Doctors Dropping Out of Medicare

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

IN A MAJOR STORY LAST WEEK, the Houston Chronicle reported that the rate of Texas physicians who are dropping the Medicare program has increased 30-fold in 2010 compared to 2006. These findings indicate the level of “no confidence” that growing numbers of physicians have about the Medicare program. The Houston Chronicle wrote that 50 physicians

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

Texas Doctors Dropping Out of Medicare Read More »

California’s Legal Challenge to Discount Pricing

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

PROBABLY NO TOPIC IN THE LAB TESTING INDUSTRY generates more controversy than discounted pricing for physicians, managed care companies, and IPAs (independent physician associations). Almost every pathologist and laboratory executive decries the corrosive effects of below-cost pricing. Yet, many of these same lab executives quietly continue to solicit new clients by dangling deeply-discounted—and often money-losing—prices

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

California’s Legal Challenge to Discount Pricing Read More »

Irish Labs Are at an Important Crossroads

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

GLOBAL OUTSOURCING OF CLINICAL LABORATORY TESTING IN IRELAND has entered its second phase. The Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) granted Quest Diagnostics Incorporated a contract for an additional two-years of cervical cancer screening tests while awarding 25% of the nation’s annual Pap testing to Sonic Healthcare Ltd. in a similar two-year contract. These developments are

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

Irish Labs Are at an Important Crossroads Read More »

Is Lab Industry Ready for Facebook and MySpace?

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

WHO COULD HAVE IMAGINED, JUST A FEW YEARS AGO, that social networking sites such as Facebook.com, MySpace.com, and YouTube.com would become a useful platform that allows clinical laboratories, pathology groups, and in vitro diagnostics (IVD) companies to engage in two-way conversations with patients and customers? After all, in those days, the preponderance of active users

To access this post, you must purchase The Dark Report.

Is Lab Industry Ready for Facebook and MySpace? Read More »

;