By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXVI No. 10 – July 22, 2019 issue
CEO SUMMARY: Implementation of digital pathology and whole-slide imaging systems in the United States lags behind that of other countries for two reasons. One is a more acute shortage of pathologists in those countries and the other is a less restrictive regulatory environment. In some locations outside the United States, pathologists have adopted fully-digital operations,
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXVI No. 10 – July 22, 2019 issue
CEO SUMMARY: In May, the FDA announced clearance for Leica Biosystems to market its Aperio AT2 DX System for clinical diagnosis in the United States. The Aperio AT2 DX System is intended for in vitro diagnostic use as an aid to pathologists reviewing and interpreting digital images of surgical pathology slides prepared from formalin-fixed paraffin
By R. Lewis Dark, from the Volume XXVI No. 7 – May 20, 2019 issue
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 regional
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XXVI No. 6 – April 29, 2019 issue
Investor interest in digital pathology (DP) and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze digital pathology images seems to be at a fever pitch recently. In the last three weeks, investors poured almost $85 million of capital into just three digital pathology companies, as noted below. This activity may be a sign that certain DP
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXV No. 6 – April 16, 2018 issue
CEO SUMMARY: Two projects to boost the performance of the microbiology laboratory at University Health Services in Augusta, Ga., significantly reduced test turnaround times in ways that contributed to improved patient outcomes. The first project was in 2016, when the lab introduced mass spectrometry and MALDI-TOF for bacterial infections, cutting turnaround times from 104 to
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXV No. 3 – February 12, 2018 issue
“Today, patients want to get diagnosis and treatment faster with fewer visits to the doctor’s office. They want speedier and more comprehensive delivery of clinical services, be it laboratory tests, imaging, or other procedures.”
—Ralph Taylor, President, Sysmex America, Inc.
CEO Summary: To bring testing closer to patients, clinical laboratories will need to offer sophisticated point-of-care systems
By Jon Stone, from the Volume XXV, No. 1 – January 2, 2018 issue
THERE IS AN INTERESTING COURT FIGHT UNFOLDING between Beckman Coulter Corporation and Quidel over the rights to sell a B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) assay. The lawsuit is a consequence of Abbott Laboratories’ acquisition of Alere, Inc., last fall.
With that acquisition, Abbott Laboratories became the world’s largest manufacturer of point-of-care (POCT) lab tests. But federal anti-trust
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XXIV, No. 17 – December 11, 2017 issue
1. CMS Sticks by Decision to Deeply Cut Medicare Part B Lab Test Fees
SHORT OF A MIRACLE, the clinical laboratory industry is less than three weeks from the single most financially-disruptive event of the past 30 years. On Jan. 1, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will impose deep cuts to Part B
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XXIV, No. 17 – December 11, 2017 issue
CEO SUMMARY: In hindsight, 2017 is likely to be remembered as a milestone year that launched several disruptive developments that will reshape the lab industry moving forward. For the clinical laboratory sector this year, CMS confirmed its intent to slash Part B clinical laboratory test prices aggressively, effective Jan. 1. For the anatomic pathology sector
By judeb
CEO SUMMARY: Market clearance of the first-ever CLIA waived analyzer for complete blood count and three-part differential tests could cut time-to-answer from days to mere minutes for one of the top 20 tests by volume performed at core laboratories. Developer Sysmex America, Inc., foresees its analyzer as a complement to central labs. Basic diagnostics would
