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.
Lab Restructuring Moves Ahead in United Kingdom and Ireland
IT IS TOUGH TIMES FINANCIALLY for pathology and clinical laboratories in the British Isles. In both the nations of the United Kingdom and Ireland, the budget woes of the respective national governments are driving major changes in the organization and delivery of laboratory testing services. In the …
Hospital Labs Feel More Pressure to Lower Prices
CEO SUMMARY: It’s a new trend and gathering momentum. At managed care contract renewal time, more hospitals and health systems report much stronger pressure from health insurers to accept deep cuts to laboratory test prices. At the same time, managed care companies are getting smarter a…
Critical Access Hospitals Losing Lab Test Work
CEO SUMMARY: One consequence of a new “site of service” health plan instituted by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire is that community hospitals—particularly in rural areas—are being asked by patients to collect blood and lab specimens, then send them off to Anthem…
Ohio Lab Offers Lessons Learned from CAP 15189
CEO SUMMARY: For a lab looking to continually improve lab operations, becoming accredited to either ISO 15189 or CAP 15189 is an ideal challenge. After hearing from other lab directors about the benefits of becoming accredited to CAP 15189, the staff at Mercy Medical Center in Canton, Ohi…
GHSU Graduates Med Techs Using Distance Training
CEO SUMMARY: Many clinical labs experiencing a shortage of trained medical laboratory scientists (MLS) in their city continue to overlook how the use of distance training programs could help them attract and retain top-performers. Leaders of the clinical laboratory scientist (CLS…
From Modest Beginnings, Two Lab Networks Find Success
“For 20 years, our regional laboratory network here in Detroit has played an important role in helping member …
‘Salary Power’ Helps Lab Recruit and Train New MTs
CEO SUMMARY: It was back in 2002 when THE DARK REPORT highlighted the innovative use of MT and MLT long distance training by PeaceHealth Laboratories (formerly Oregon Medical Labs). Distance training is part of a comprehensive program to attract individuals in the community with two-year …
Spectra Lab in Milpitas Accredits to ISO 15189
CEO SUMMARY: Spectra Laboratories, Inc., a renal-specific testing services company with labs in New Jersey and California, announced earlier this month that the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation awarded accreditation to ISO 1589 to its laboratory in Milpitas, California. I…
New Lab Management Resource for Pathologists, Lab Leaders
FOR PATHOLOGISTS AND OTHERS wanting to sharpen their skills in lab management and administration, there is a new resource. Laboratory Administration for Pathologists has just been published by the CAP Press. It has been long-recognized within the pathology profession that u…
TriCore Earns Multi-Site CAP 15189 Accreditation
CEO SUMMARY: To achieve the goals of continuous improvement and standardization across all facilities within its organization, TriCore Reference Laboratories opted to implement the CAP 15189 quality management system (QMS). Last month, the lab announced its accreditation to CAP 1…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 6 – April 21, 2025
Now that a federal judge has vacated the FDA’s LDT rule, The Dark Report analyzes the judgement and notes the various steps the FDA could take in response. Also, lab testing at pharmacies is proving to be less successful than was once anticipated.
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