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

Volume XXVI No. 7 - May 20, 2019

What’s Coming Next for Anatomic Pathologists?

Commentary and Opinion by R. Lewis Dark / By R. Lewis Dark

INTERESTING THINGS ARE UNFOLDING within the profession of anatomic pathology. If the adage of “follow the money” applies to understanding why things happen, then recent events support some surprising conclusions. Take the news reported in this issue of The Dark Report that PathGroup of Nashville is acquiring Pathologists Bio-Medical Laboratories (PBML) of Dallas. That brings together two …

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The Bad News: Disruption. The Good News: Opportunity!

Laboratory Management / By Robert Michel

CEO SUMMARY: There was an interesting consensus that emerged from the 80 sessions and 118 speakers at this year’s Executive War College in New Orleans earlier this month. The consensus centered around two themes. One theme is disruption, which is bad news for those labs that hope to maintain the status quo. The other theme …

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What Labs Can Expect from PAMA in 2019

Laboratory Billing / By Joseph Burns

CEO SUMMARY: Attendees at the Executive War College learned that CMS has taken steps to expand the number of hospital labs required to report their private payer lab test price data under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act, but the unbundling of certain test panels could be problematic. Problems can occur when labs either did …

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CMS, Lab Groups Begin Talks About Issues with NCCI Edits

Laboratory Billing / By Joseph Burns

SERIOUS PROBLEMS WITH THE NEW GUIDELINES for the National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) that were implemented on Jan. 1 have caused nine clinical laboratory associations and groups to come together and voice their concerns to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS implemented those changes on Jan. 1, resulting in confusion among …

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TriCore Forges Ahead to Help Payers Manage Population Health

Laboratory Management / By Joseph Burns

CEO SUMMARY: To develop new sources of revenue to offset declining fee-for-service payments, TriCore Reference Labs is collaborating with health insurers in novel ways to improve patient outcomes and lower healthcare costs. To achieve this, TriCore brings together data from lab tests, EHRs, patient demographics, and geography. Analytical tools allow it to assess population health …

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Pathologists Bio-Med Labs Is Purchased by PathGroup

Laboratory Management / By Joseph Burns

TWO ANATOMIC PATHOLOGY SUPERGROUPS in two different regions joined forces this month. This happened when PathGroup of Nashville, acquired Pathologists Bio-Medical Laboratories (PBM) of Dallas. Both groups are similar in that they are very large and do a combination of anatomic, clinical, and molecular testing. PathGroup has 75 physicians and PhDs on its staff and …

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Dr. Papanicolaou Honored by Google Doodle on May 13

Pathology Trends / By Robert Michel

Pathologists and medical laboratory professionals the world over had a surprise on May 13 if they used Google for an Internet search. The doodle on the Google search home page honored pathologist Dr. Georgios Papanicolaou, who developed the Pap smear test used to screen for cervical cancer. Papanicolaou was born in 1883 in Greece. He studied medicine in …

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May 20, 2019 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News

Late Breaking Lab News / By Robert Michel

Canada faces a similar shortage of medical technologists (MTs) as exists in the United States. “We have reached the point now where some laboratories have been closed for weeks due to insufficient staffing, which is a cascading problem for patients and the healthcare system,” stated Maria Klement, President of the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory …

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TriCore Finds Value-Based Healthcare a Profitable Endeavor

TDR Insider / By Mary Van Doren

This is an excerpt from a 3,380-word article in the May 20, 2019 issue of THE DARK REPORT. The full article is available to members of The Dark Intelligence Group. CEO SUMMARY: To develop new sources of revenue to offset declining fee-for-service payments, TriCore Reference Labs is collaborating with health insurers in novel ways to improve …

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