TAG:
histochemistry
Digital Pathology Can Be Transformative for Labs
CEO SUMMARY: Across the nation, pathologists are at a crossroads. Now that the FDA has cleared a digital pathology and whole slide imaging (WSI) system for use in primary diagnosis, should they adopt this technology sooner or wait until later? One pathologist who has worked with WSI for m…
In Texas, Questions for UnitedHealth, BeaconLBS
CEO SUMMARY: As of January 1, 2017, clinical laboratories and pathology groups in Texas will find it more difficult to serve the 500,000 patients enrolled in UnitedHealthcare’s fully-insured commercial plans in the Lone Star State. That’s because—just as it did in Florida—UnitedHe…
At Mid-Year, Labs Struggle to Get Paid for Many Tests
CEO SUMMARY: At a recent coding and billing conference, pathology and lab clients of one of the nation’s largest revenue management companies agreed that three trends have caused lower revenues since the start of 2014. One trend seen by labs involves higher deductibles and copayments fr…
Local Labs vs. Central Labs Assessed in HER2 Test Study
WHEN IT COMES TO HER2NEU TESTING, a study of accuracy just published by the journal Cancer may raise interesting questions for pathology groups across the nation. “Assessing the discordance rate between local and central HER2 testing in women with locally determined HER2- negative breast …
Eastern Canada’s Latest Lab Errors Get Attention
CEO SUMMARY: Authorities for Eastern Health in Newfoundland and Labrador province in Canada are conducting a root cause analysis after finding discrepancies in breast cancer testing that affected nine patients. Health officials said these cases were discovered as a result of an improved q…
ACLA, CAP Comment on Final 2014 Medicare Rules
CEO SUMMARY: On November 27, as the nation prepared for the Thanksgiving holiday, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the long-awaited final rules for 2014. Early analysis of the 1,300 pages of rules CMS released indicates that the agency moderated one…
Ottawa Pathology Lab Cuts Turnaround Time By More Than 50%
CEO Summary: Pathologists at Ottawa Hospital not only must handle a large volume of specimens regularly, but are experiencing a 14% per year growth in the number of specimens. Last year, when the average turnaround time for a case was nine days, the pathology department embarked …
Why One Molecular Diagnostics Company Closed Its Doors
CEO SUMMARY: When executives closed the doors of Pathwork Diagnostics last month, the simple explanation was that reimbursement for its proprietary molecular diagnostic test was inadequate. Indeed, that was part of the story. But other factors played significant roles in impeding…
Aetna To Lower Lab Test Prices, New Fees Are Effective on July 1
IN RECENT MONTHS, labs are reporting the receipt of letters from Aetna, Inc., announcing that it will pay dramatically less than Medicare prices for many key lab tests. Aetna said that these lower prices will take effect on July 1, 2013. Three examples illustrate the deep fee cuts t…
Pathologists in China, U.S. Linked By Digital Pathology
CEO Summary: It is one of the first clinical collaborations of this type to be anchored by use of digital pathology. Pathologists at the medical schools of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) are exc…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXVII, No. 18 – December 28, 2020
There are several surprises in The Dark Report’s annual list of the Top 10 Lab Stories for 2020. Despite the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic dominating every aspect of clinical care, social life, and economic activities since March, at least one major health insurer pushed ahead with two major policies governing how labs can submit claims. In another big story, for the first time in decades, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law were revised with new final rules. Also, Medicare lab test spending increased in 2019 despite PAMA cuts.
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