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

Volume IX No. 5 - April 1, 2002

Clinical Decision Support Systems Arrive

FORWARD THINKERS IN CLINICAL LABORATORIES and anatomic pathology groups have always recognized the substantial, but as yet unharvested, potential that would accrue to the healthcare system were clinicians to make better use of laboratory testing. All of us know stories and anecdotes about how certain of these forward thinkers tried to get their hospital or …

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Shortage of Med Techs Stimulates Innovation

CEO SUMMARY: In Western Tennessee, a seven-hospital rural health system is pulling out all stops to solve the staffing crisis in its laboratory division by implementing programs that address both retention and recruiting. “Bench bonuses,” college loan repayment programs, recruitment bonuses, and shift differentials are just a few of the methods used to attract and …

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Catfight in New York Over Lab Supplies Law

CEO SUMMARY: All labs serving physicians’ offices worry about the delicate balance between complying with laws governing inducement and protecting clients against competing labs who interpret those same laws more liberally. Recent events in New York state graphically demonstrate the compliance dilemma, particularly when regulators are shy about taking enforcement actions against offenders. FINAL REGULATIONS …

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Clinical Decision Support System Improves Lab Test Ordering

CEO SUMMARY: Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s “WizOrder” demonstrates that a well-designed clinical decision support system can help physicians make better use of laboratory tests. The early successes of WizOrder demonstrate that the need for improved utilization and application of laboratory tests will be ongoing. It reinforces, once again, that there is an opportunity for lab …

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New Lab Test Technology Must Meet Five Payer Requirements

HOSPITALS ARE NOT THE ONLY healthcare player wary of the high cost of new diagnostic test technologies. Insurance companies all over the United States have increased their scrutiny of new medical technology, including laboratory tests. In a visit to Wall Street last week, THE DARK REPORT attended Bank of America Securities’ conference on “Genomics & …

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First-Ever “Black Belt” Certified In an American Hospital Lab

IT WAS A BIG DEAL in the laboratory of Grant Riverside Hospital of Columbus, Ohio when Lab Site Manager Sandra Hood received her certification as a Six Sigma Black Belt on January 23, 2002. That’s because hospital administrators had selected the laboratory to be hospital’s guinea pig. Their goal was to gauge the effectiveness of …

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“April 1, 2002 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”

Genaissance Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced it has identified genetic markers useful in identifying which people will respond best to cholesterol-lowering drugs. A study of 500 patients taking Lipitor, Pravachol, and Zochor compared their response to drugs over 16 weeks with a genetic profile that analyzed 100 genes. Among other things, the company says it may use …

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