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Issues Archive

The most complete archive of clinical and pathology lab industry news available, including issues from 1997 to the present.

Volume XXI NO. 6 – April 28, 2014

In this issue:

FOR DECADES, PATHOLOGISTS HAVE POINTED OUT that their expertise in laboratory medicine can be tapped by physicians to improve utilization of lab tests, contribute to improved patient outcomes, and reduce the overall cost of care. And that’s exactly what’s happening at Atrius Health, where new value-based reimbursement models and integration of clinical care have created an opportunity for pathologists and lab experts to develop care pathways and help physicians order the right laboratory test at the right time. Also, labs are facing bad debt exposure from new patients in ACA plans.

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Volume XXI No. 5 – April 7, 2014

In this issue:

QUIETLY PUBLISHED in the March 25 issue of the Federal Register was a notice that CMS had granted deeming authority for CLIA to the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA). This action gives laboratories in the United States a new choice to meet the accreditation requirements of CLIA. Founded in 1978, A2LA is itself recognized as compliant with ISO 17011 and has offered ISO 15189 accreditation services to clinical labs for more than a decade. This is the first time in two decades that CMS has granted deemed status to a new organization for CLIA requirements.

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Volume XXI No. 4 – March 17, 2014

In this issue:

IN RESPONSE TO the many changes now unfolding in the U.S. healthcare system, labs are investing their scarce capital in different ways. Five trends in lab spending can be identified. They range from expanding the informatics capabilities of a lab organization to acquiring the hottest new diagnostic technologies. For lab industry vendors, some of these trends are welcome and mean more business. But other trends are negative and represent fewer orders. Also, the traditional business model of the private pathology group practice is at risk, due to reduced prices being paid for pathology services and the trend of office-based physicians selling their medical practices to hospitals and insurers.

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Volume XXI No. 3 – February 24, 2014

In this issue:

MULTIPLEXED MASS SPECTROMETRY is poised to trigger a revolution in clinical laboratory testing. Advocates of this technology point out that, for certain types of lab tests, multiplexed mass spec can produce a more precise answer and do so at considerably less cost than many existing lab test methodologies. One innovative use of this technique comes from CU Toxicology of Aurora, Colorado. It has developed a multiplexed mass spectrometry test that can identify 112 compounds and more than 500 illicit and brand-name drugs at a price that can be disruptive to the existing standard of practice in pain management testing.

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Volume XXI No. 2 – February 3, 2014

In this issue:

FOR THE FIRST TIME in the laboratory medicine field, a major health system in the United States has earned accreditation of its constituent laboratory sites to the standards of ISO 15189: Medical Laboratories. The honor belongs to Henry Ford Health System (HFHS), based in Detroit, Michigan. During 2013, Henry Ford became the “only integrated delivery system, where all laboratories are standardized under one source of leadership,” to gain this accreditation. Also, new Blue Card policies are causing some labs to go unpaid.

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Volume XXI No. 1 – January 13, 2014

In this issue:

GENETIC TESTING is creating new legal risks for labs. In two recent cases of ‘wrongful’ birth, juries awarded $28 million and $50 million to the plaintiffs. Last month, in Seattle, Washington, a jury ordered Laboratory Corporation of America and Valley Medical Center each to pay $25 million following a lawsuit about a ‘wrongful’ birth. At issue was how genetic tests were ordered, performed, and reported. This court case is the latest example of the heightened legal risk labs face when performing molecular diagnostic and genetic tests. Lab directors may want to update liability cover- age and review their lab’s workflow and gene testing policies.

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Volume XX, No. 17 – December 23, 2013

In this issue:

2013’S TOP 10 lab stories point to tougher times, as labs found themselves dealing with shrinking budgets and falling test prices. The tale of less money for providers was not limited to clinical labs and pathology groups, but was equally true of hospitals and physicians. In THE DARK REPORT’S annual lookback at the year’s 10 most important stories for the lab industry, the main theme is that government and private payers are reducing reimbursement at an unprecedented pace. In response, most clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups are actively reducing their operational costs and looking for ways to boost productivity.

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Volume XX, No. 16 – December 2, 2013

In this issue:

AT SONORA QUEST LABORATORIES (SQL), the ‘Voice of the Customer’ is guiding the organization’s evolution from physician-centric to patient-centric. It was quickly recognized that an effective enterprise master patient index (EMPI) was essential. One patient-centric service that SQL is in the midst of deploying is the capability to collect overdue money owed it by patients at the time of service. Also, CMS final rules for 2014 were released the day before Thanksgiving, and early analysis of the 1,300 pages indicates that the agency moderated one of its proposals to cut back what pathologists and clinical labs are paid.

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Volume XX No. 15 – November 11, 2013

In this issue:

RECENT CUTS TO LAB TEST PRICES are driving clinical labs to sell out or file for bankruptcy. At the same time, Medicare’s proposed cuts to pathology testing and Part B Clinical Lab Prices for 2014 and 2015 have all lab managers worried about their financial health. This wave of restructuring will be just the first as price cuts continue to impact lab finances. Meanwhile, the lab team at Broward Health System has instituted changes that reduced the use of outmoded tests while ensuring that the correct test or blood product was ordered for the right reasons. The lab produced savings of $871,000 in the first 12 months.

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Volume XX No.14 – October 21, 2013

In this issue:

PATHOLOGISTS AT OTTAWA HOSPITAL last year started a series of Lean and process improvement projects to help them handle their large volume of specimens, which is growing at a rate of 14% per year. In a matter of months, changes in both histology and in scheduling of the anatomic pathologists contributed to a 50% reduction in average turnaround time. In turn, the faster TAT has improved patient care. Also, a Portland, Oregon, lab continues to post strong volume growth, partly due to its ability to implement connections between its laboratory information system (LIS) and the electronic health record (EHR) systems of its office-based physician clients.

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Volume XXXII, No. 14 – October 6, 2025

The Dark Report examines increasing healthcare costs for employers and how clinical labs can help those employers. Also, an in-depth case study shows how one hospital system regained its outreach program after originally ceding it to a national lab company, adding millions to the system’s bottom line.

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