Laboratory Management
Laboratory management in today’s clinical lab industry is changing rapidly and facing entirely new challenges. One problem is the lack of upcoming younger lab managers, as the retirements of baby boomer pathologists, medical technologists and lab scientists are in the near future. These individuals make up the largest proportion of supervisors, managers, and lab administrators working in labs today.
As they retire, every clinical lab and pathology group needs to have the next generation of leaders ready to step up and assume responsibilities. But, across the lab industry, there are limited opportunities for every lab’s brightest up-and-comers to get the regular management development opportunities that are common among Fortune 500 companies. The Dark Intelligence Group has called for the establishment of a mentoring program to help overcome this problem.
At the same time, downward pressure on reimbursements and mounting competition have created an environment that requires much more effort for a medical lab to grow and thrive.
Legislation, including the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) of 2009 and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010, have placed significant demands on medical laboratories and healthcare providers to improve internal efficiency even while offering more services for less money. This pressure to “do more with less” is further compounded by the need to deliver increasingly personalized client service to retain and win clients.
With the era of fee-for-service medicine coming to a close, every clinical laboratory and anatomic pathology organization needs a strategy for getting paid, as new reimbursement models that support patient-centric care will make up a larger portion of lab revenues.
The challenge for every clinical laboratory manager is to understand how to evolve from a business model that is accession-centric or volume-centric to one that is patient-centric.
Many clinical laboratories today are developing data repositories to logically link all transactional and other information about a patient. These repositories allow physicians to see all relevant information, identify trends, and provide better care as a result, enabling labs to provide greater value to their customers, patients and payers, thus creating more value and becoming more patient-centric.
OIG Reports Its Findings about CDC’s First COVID Test Problems
ONE MAJOR FAILURE BY FEDERAL AGENCIES in the first days of the COVID-19 pandemic was the development and release of an inaccurate and unreliable SARS-CoV-2 test, intended for use by public health labs. This was the finding of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) …
CLIA Lab Directors Must Watch Delegated Duties
CEO SUMMARY: Laboratory accredito…
Outreach Nets Hospital Lab $2.5M in One Year
CEO SUMMARY: Tucson Medical Center had sold its outreach business to a commercial laboratory two decades earlier, but wanted to bring those services back to its in-house lab. Early work with the finance de…
Labcorp and Quest Discuss Outreach Acquisition Potential
GIVEN THE POTENTIAL UPSIDE OF HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN ADDED REVENUES, both Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics remain on the prowl to acquire more hospital laboratory outreach …
Lab Data Crucial to Insurer Risk Adjustment Models
CEO SUMMARY: Payers who use risk adjustment models as part of Medicare Advantage need diagnostic data that helps them document ICD-10 diagnoses that earn them higher premium payments for sicker pat…
Lab News Briefs: Joint Commission, Bon Secours, Anthem, Walmart
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Guerrilla Kaizen Events Bring Rapid Change and Cost Savings
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 an…
Lab News Briefs: Labcorp, Tufts, Informa, HIMSS, Sanford, Fairview
Labcorp Buys Tufts’ Lab Outreach IN OUR LAST ISSUE, WE REPORTED THAT LABCORP HAD ACQUIRED the lab outreach services of two health systems in…
Hospital Lab Outreach Selloffs Continue with Labcorp as Buyer
OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, Labcorp has shaken up the hospital laboratory market in the Pacific Northwest, particularly as it concerns lab outreach services. …
Competency Assessments Prove To Be a Nagging CLIA Deficiency
CEO SUMMARY: Competency assessment problems rank high among frequently cited deficiencies during CLIA inspections. Representatives from the CAP, COLA, and The Joint Commission explain what areas to…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXI, No. 11 – August 12, 2024
This issue identifies current lab trends as experienced by the two Blood Brothers, Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics, and delves into these trends. Also, a new survey highlights consumer healthcare trends that labs should be aware of.
See the full table of contentsHow Much Laboratory Business Intelligence Have You Missed?
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