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.
Ten Myths of Lab Management That Led the Clinical Lab Industry Astray
Part One of a Special Series CEO SUMMARY: One of our most popular series ever was the “13 Perilous Parallels” of laboratory management. This four-part story appeared in 1996 and chronicled similar management strategies used by various national laboratories during the…
Quest Holds Off on SBCL, Leaves the Door Open
CEO SUMMARY: It’s a cryptic situation as of press time. Quest Diagnostics issued a public statement on July 1 stating that its acquisition of SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories would not close on July 2, as expected. Since that date, there’s been no further comment on the situat…
McKesson on HBOC, PAML, Medicare Coding, Abbott Laboratories
SCANDAL AT HBO & CO. TAINTS MCKESSON HBOC FIVE EXECUTIVES WERE SACKED by McKesson HBOC Inc.’s Board of Directors last month in response to allegations of financial improprieties. All five were employed by HBOC prior to its acquisition by McKesson last year. The termin…
Quest and SBCL Expect Merger Date Of July 2
CEO SUMMARY: After months of waiting and planning, executives at Quest Diagnostics Incorporated believe that July 2, 1999 will be the date when their acquisition of SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories becomes official. During the month of July, expect a flurry of activity at Quest Di…
Surprise Merger Changes Cytology Marketplace
CEO SUMMARY: Expect the merger of AutoCyte, Inc. and NeoPath, Inc. to inaugurate a new market cycle for automated cytology systems. FDA approval of AutoCyte’s liquid preparation system, called PREP™, sets the stage for intensified marketing battles between the AutoCyte/NeoPath consort…
PennState Geisinger Building “ Distributed Lab ” Around POCT
CEO SUMMARY: Here’s an integrated healthcare system that’s pushing its clinical laboratory across traditional barriers between physician’s office and clinical lab. At PennState Geisinger Healthcare, a fast-growing health system located in rural Pennsylvania, point-of-care testing is…
Associated Pathologists Laboratories, Dynacare, Bio-Reference Labs, Quest, AmeriPath
ASSOCIATED PATH LABS WINS PATENT FOR DRUGS OF ABUSE TEST IT’S NOT TOO OFTEN that independent commercial laboratories are awarded patents. Las Vegas-based Associated Pathologists Laboratories received a patent for a technique it developed relating to drugs of abuse testing….
LabCorp And IMPATH Top Their Categories
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AmeriPath, Cytyc, Unilab, Naiad
AMERIPATH INKS PACT WITH MEDAPHIS, BUYS FLORIDA PATH PRACTICE Things are busy at AmeriPath, Inc. of Riviera Beach, Florida. The pathology practice management company announced a number of accomplishments. First, it signed an agreement with Medaphis Corporation…
LabCorp Making Steady Progress On Path Back to Financial Health
MOST OF THE LAB INDUSTRY is watching the impending acquisition by Quest Diagnostics Incorporated of SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories (SBCL). This big news overshadows the steady gains made at Laboratory Corporation of America in its efforts …
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 13 – September 15, 2025
The Dark Report examines a new bill that would reform PAMA and avoid reimbursement rate cuts scheduled for January 2026. Clinical laboratory leaders are urged to make their voices heard in Congress. Also, an expert describes how labs can fix pre-analytical errors and avoid disaster.
See the full table of contentsHow Much Laboratory Business Intelligence Have You Missed?
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