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.
Expect ISO 9000 To Alter Clinical Lab Management
CEO SUMMARY: Perceptive laboratory executives and pathologists should welcome the impending arrival of ISO 9000 into the clinical laboratory industry. It promises to solve many problems of laboratory management. The diagnostics industry, responsible for manufacturing instruments and suppl…
Unrealized Gains Targeted By Premier’s Lab Initiative
CEO SUMMARY: In part one of this exclusive interview, Premier’s John Biggers described the reasons why the 1,700 hospital consortium developed a strategic services program for clinical laboratories. In this final installment, Biggers provides insight as to how the program will work and …
Premier Explains Reasons It Sees Lab As Strategic
CEO SUMMARY: Premier’s strategic alliance with Quest Diagnostics Incorporated represents a fundamental shift in the marketplace for hospital-based clinical laboratory services. This was a project developed by Premier, in response to its evaluation of marketplace trends affecting hospita…
Premier Executive John Biggers Discusses Reasons For Laboratory Initiative
CEO SUMMARY: Because of Premier’s influence with 1,700 of the nation’s 5,000 hospitals, laboratory administrators and executives should realize that this strategic services alliance between Premier and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will change traditional laboratory practices, regard…
Humana, Inc. Acquired By United Healthcare
CEO SUMMARY: Clinical laboratories will see increased concentration of laboratory purchasing as a result of this merger. The combined company will insure 19.2 million people in 48 states. This transaction confirms that consolidation proceeds in all areas of the healthcare industry, despit…
“Disease Management” Firms, Niche Labs Release Financials
Two DISEASE MANAGEMENT FIRMS enjoyed strong revenue growth during the first quarter of 1998. UroCor, Inc. and Impath Inc. posted revenue increases of 31% and 49%, respectively, over first quarter 1997. UroCor is the disease management company which serves urologists…
Premier & Quest Devise New Service Arrangement
CEO SUMMARY: Pressure is intense for hospital buying consortiums to justify themselves and deliver added savings and services to their members. The recent announcement of a new national contract between Premier and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated demonstrates that both buying groups and la…
New Alliance Is Example Of Coming Paradigm Shift
CEO SUMMARY: This strategic alliance represents a fundamental shift within the clinical laboratory industry. It is a response to market forces which should not be ignored by laboratory executives and pathologists anywhere in the country. Whether the alliance succeeds or fails, it will lau…
Unilab & LabOne Demonstrate Improved Revenues and Profits
AFTER AN EXTENDED MULTI-YEAR financial siege, Unilab Corporation seems to be regaining its balance. First quarter financials demonstrate respectable gains in revenue and net income at the California based laboratory. Big gains were posted by LabOne, Inc. of Lenexa, …
Commercial Lab Values Validated By Recent Sales
CEO SUMMARY: Many current owners of independent laboratories now wish they had sold during the glory days of commercial laboratory acquisitions. Recent sales transactions demonstrate that current market valuation for clinical laboratories is based on actual cash flow. Even at these new va…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 12 – August 25, 2025
In an exclusive interview, a laboratory industry M&A specialist discusses what’s driving lab outreach sales to national lab companies. Also, The Dark Report analyzes ways in which pathology and clinical labs can profitably partner with pharmaceutical companies.
See the full table of contentsHow Much Laboratory Business Intelligence Have You Missed?
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