By R. Lewis Dark, from the Volume XXVI No. 2 – February 4, 2019 issue
By any measure, it is tougher today for clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups to generate the revenue needed to deliver state-of-the-art diagnostic testing services while remaining financially viable. Four recent trends prove the point.
First, every year, the Medicare program and private health insurers are cutting the prices they pay for medical laboratory tests.
Second, most
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XXVI No. 1 – January 14, 2019 issue
CEO SUMMARY: This will be one of the most challenging years facing the clinical lab industry since the early 1990s, when closed panel HMOs were the disruptive force that generated deep cuts in lab test prices. However, unlike HMOs of that era, the CMS scheme to collect private payer lab test prices and use that
CEO SUMMARY: Two trends are driving a movement to standardize laboratory operations across large regions: the integration of clinical care and the need for hospitals and health networks to continuously improve patient outcomes. THE DARK REPORT outlines an ambitious program in Michigan, where Ascension Health is working to align itself with an integrated health system
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXV No. 13 – September 10, 2018 issue
CEO SUMMARY: Two trends are driving a movement to standardize laboratory operations across large regions: the integration of clinical care and the need for hospitals and health networks to improve patient outcomes continuously. In Michigan, Ascension Health is an example of a lab team working to standardize lab testing activities among seven organizations, 14 hospitals,
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXV No. 9 – June 18, 2018 issue
CEO SUMMARY: Despite the challenges hospital and health system laboratory outreach programs face today, there are many ways they can remain viable, according to an outreach expert from Mayo Medical Laboratories. By taking specific steps to increase volume and the value they provide, lab outreach programs can keep their costs down while bringing in more
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXV No. 8 – May 29, 2018 issue
CEO SUMMARY: After hospital labs and pathology groups implement Lean and process improvement methods to harvest the easiest cost savings and boost quality, they often take the next step of introducing real-time analytics systems. Access to detailed data about workflows, productivity, and turnaround times then drives continuous improvement projects. At St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical
By R. Lewis Dark, from the Volume XXV No. 8 – May 29, 2018 issue
IT IS AN IMPORTANT SIGN OF THE TIMES when press releases about the two new national lab services agreements that UnitedHealthcare just announced with Laboratory Corporation of America and Quest Diagnostics emphasize how value-based programs will be an important element in the health insurer’s relationships with the two national lab companies.
In fact, the joint announcements
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXV No. 7 – May 7, 2018 issue
CEO SUMMARY: Innovative clinical labs and pathology groups are absorbing this year’s Medicare Part B price cuts while continuing to pursue opportunities to add value. A common theme from many speakers at last week’s Executive War College in New Orleans is that the lab must get mastery of its LIS and informatics specifically to enable
By R. Lewis Dark, from the Volume XXV No. 7 – May 7, 2018 issue
WE’VE JUST FINISHED A FASCINATING WEEK IN NEW ORLEANS, at the 23rd annual Executive War College. More than 820 lab leaders were present to hear 104 interesting speakers in 65 unique sessions. Collectively, this group represented as much as $20 billion in annual clinical lab and pathology revenue.
These statistics are important for a strategic planning
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXV No. 5 – March 26, 2018 issue
CEO SUMMARY: A disruptive force that involves precision medicine, pharmaceutical companies, and venture capital investors is poised to reshape the clinical laboratory industry. Genetic knowledge makes it possible to match cancer drugs to specific mutations. Pharma companies and professional investors recognize that control of diagnostic technologies and companion diagnostic tests enable them to gain better access
