Volume XXIX, No. 9 - June 27, 2022 Archives

Optum to Offer Laboratory Benefits Management to other Health Plans

This is an excerpt of a 1,355-word article in the June 21, 2022 issue of THE DARK REPORT. The full article is available to members of The Dark Intelligence Group. CEO SUMMARY: UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Optum announced a new laboratory benefits management program aimed at improving utilization of genetic/molecular clinical laboratory testing. The goal is …

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1999’s ‘To Err Is Human’ Still an Opportunity for Labs

NOT ONLY DID THE 1999 PUBLICATION OF ‘TO ERR IS HUMAN” trigger a wave of national news coverage about patient harm in hospitals, it also launched this nation’s healthcare system on a multi-decade journey to boost the quality of care, reduce medical errors, and increase the transparency of both patient outcomes and prices. “To Err …

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UnitedHealth’s Optum to Offer Lab Test Management

Clinical Laboratory Trends, Genetic Testing, Lab Marketplace / By Robert Michel

CEO SUMMARY: UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Optum announced a new laboratory benefits management program aimed at improving utilization of genetic/molecular clinical laboratory testing. The goal is to save health plans money while bringing genetic test validity data prominently into medical decision-making. Health plans buying this service from Optum can use its prior authorization features to manage …

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Oracle’s Plans for Cerner Might Increase Value of Lab Test Data

Lab Marketplace, Laboratory Information Systems / By Robert Michel

ONE MAJOR INFORMATICS PLAYER HAS AMBITIOUS PLANS that could make diagnostic data more accessible and, at the same time, more valuable for clinical laboratories. Oracle, the new owner of Cerner Corporation, is telling financial analysts that it wants to create a national repository of health records. With the technology giant’s acquisition of Cerner now complete, Oracle …

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Lab’s Anemia Program Brings in New Revenue

Clinical Laboratory, Laboratory Management / By Robert Michel

CEO SUMMARY: In Philadelphia, Jefferson Health was looking for new revenue streams to help financial performance during the pandemic. It determined a strong opportunity existed by establishing a patient blood management program that included better anemia treatment options and utilized clinical lab test data. BY IMPROVING BLOOD AND ANEMIA MANAGEMENT, the opportunity exists …

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OIG: 25% of Medicare Inpatients ‘Harmed in Hospitals’ Pre-COVID

Clinical Laboratory, Lab Risk & Compliance / By Robert Michel

CEO SUMMARY: This year’s report to Congress on patient harm in hospitals—prepared by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG)—determined that one in four Medicare beneficiaries suffered harm while an inpatient in a hospital. The report garnered little attention outside the healthcare press. Moreover, the OIG’s findings about the incidence of patient harm in hospitals …

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How to Better Recruit Millennial Pathologists

Laboratory Management, Pathology Trends, People / By Robert Michel

CEO SUMMARY: With the Great Resignation taking its toll on existing pathology rosters and only a small pool of talent to replace the retirees, competition is intense to fill open roles. Pathology groups and clinical laboratories must adjust their hiring methods to better attract Millennial candidates, a group with professional and personal priorities different from …

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June 27, 2022 Intelligence: Late-Breaking Lab News

Late Breaking Lab News / By Robert Michel

Efforts to revise the much-criticized methods Medicare officials use to establish prices the government pays clinical laboratories under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) of 2014 got a boost last week. On June 22, a bipartisan bill to accomplish that was introduced in the U.S. Senate. The new Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act …

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