Volume XXVII No. 8 - June 1, 2020 Archives

COVID-19 Pandemic Erodes Cash Flow at Clinical Labs

This is an excerpt of a 1,209-word article in the June 1, 2020 issue of THE DARK REPORT (TDR). The full article is available to members of The Dark Intelligence Group. CEO SUMMARY: Every day, national news headlines scream about the shortage of SARS-CoV-2 lab tests needed to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, national news coverage has begun […]

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COVID-19 Pandemic Erodes Cash Flow at Clinical Labs

Clinical Laboratory Trends / Robert Michel

CEO SUMMARY: Every day, national news headlines scream about the shortage of SARS-CoV-2 lab tests needed to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, national news coverage has begun focusing on concerns about inaccurate or unreliable COVID-19 serology tests. But the story being missed by the national news media is the steady deterioration of the finances of the clinical laboratory organizations that are

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COVID-19 Serology Test Claims 98.8% Accuracy

Clinical Laboratory / Joseph Burns

CEO SUMMARY: When it announced its new antibody test for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 on May 3, Roche Holdings explained that its sensitivity level after 14 days was 100%, which is an important point to understand about the test. When assessing Roche’s claims, two experts agreed that the test performs exceptionally well. Abbott Laboratories also reported high performance levels for its

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Coronavirus Tests Boost Immunology Lab’s Volume

Clinical Laboratory / Joseph Burns

CEO SUMMARY: Physicians treating patients with compromised immune systems who contract the new coronavirus need immunology tests to guide risk-assessment decisions for these patients. At a Virginia lab that specializes in such testing, specimen volume has tripled since the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic began. The lab does immunology testing for patients needing transplants, as well as for patients who have AIDS, cancer, diabetes, heart

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In Michigan, Short Supplies Constrain COVID Test Capacity

Clinical Laboratory / Joseph Burns

CEO SUMMARY: Because of a severe shortage of supplies, members of Michigan’s two hospital laboratory networks have been stymied in their ability to respond to the pandemic and operate their SARS-CoV-2 analyzers at full capacity. The lack of primers, reagents, specimen-collection swabs, test kits, and viral transport media resulted from directives federal officials imposed in the supply chain in favor of

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Lab Directors Develop Plans for Return of Routine Hospital Care

Clinical Laboratory / Joseph Burns

CLINICAL LABORATORY DIRECTORS IN MICHIGAN are developing plans to test patients who will return when hospitals reopen for routine care. Included in those plans are strategies to do testing for the novel coronavirus on patients who will return for everyday care and elective procedures, said Barton P. Buxton, EdD, President and CEO of McLaren Health Management Group. MHMG provides laboratory and other services in

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June 1, 2020 Intelligence: Late-Breaking Lab News

Late Breaking Lab News / Robert Michel

Daily, national news headlines call attention to the lack of adequate testing for COVID-19. News reporters question why clinical labs are unable to meet the demand for SARS-CoV-2 tests. One major reason is the lack of adequate supplies labs need to collect specimens, transport them, and perform COVID-19 tests in large numbers. This is one finding of a study conducted by the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP). In a press release

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March, April Patient Visits Drop at Virginia Physician Group and Lab

Clinical Laboratory Trends / Joseph Burns

DURING THE CARONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, gastroenterology and other physician groups with in-house medical laboratories—like most medical practices and clinical laboratories in the United States—have seen a sharp drop in patient visits and specimen volume. That drop occurred at the same time gastroenterologists experienced strong growth in patient visits and in the specimen volume they sent to anatomic pathologists, said Kenneth N. Josovitz, MD, MPH, President of Associates

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