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

Commentary and Opinion by R. Lewis Dark

Alert! Changes to CLIA Accreditation, CLIA Revisions

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

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 status quo associated with how labs choose which deeming …

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PAMA Cuts Have Simply Been Kicked Down the Road

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

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 included a provision to delay PAMA cuts to the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS) for 2023. This …

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Two Positive Messages to Focus on at Year’s End

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

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 SARS-CoV-2 pandemic seems to have peaked, even as new variants appear. Second, labs continue to …

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Innovations Might Reduce Need for Phlebotomists

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

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. However, there is a company developing …

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Clinical Laboratory News from North of the Border

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

In mid-October, Canada’s largest national conference for diagnostics 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 innovative developments that might be useful to our clients and regular …

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Getting the Jump on Solving Major Lab Issues

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

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 with our lead story about how to recruit and retain medical technologists (MTs), medical laboratory scientists (MLSs), and medical laboratory technicians …

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Consumer Trends, Quality Management, and Labs

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

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. There are effective ways that labs can attack that triple whammy. In this issue of The …

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You Asked for It. We Organized It.

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

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. At this moment, the big three sources of major headaches for lab managers are the …

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Labs Face Powerful and Unwelcome Forces

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

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 (Medicare and Medicaid) to pay the bill. Yet, 25 years after …

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Important Court Rulings & Pending New Federal Law

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

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 think will have the biggest impact on laboratory compliance and legal risk. The first of …

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