By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXV No. 11 – July 30, 2018 issue
CEO SUMMARY: New national lab contracts that LabCorp and Quest announced in May could disrupt the lab testing market in ways regional labs can exploit, experts said. Health plans entered these new contracts after realizing that the exclusive network contracts do not work, one lab consultant explained, adding that large national labs will compete with
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXIII No. 3 – February 29, 2016 issue
PRIVATE PAYERS AND MEDICARE contractors are taking divergent approaches to establishing coverage policies and setting prices for molecular and genetic tests. That’s what Kuo Bianchini Tong, MS, CEO of Quorum Consulting Inc., sees happening.
“One approach seeks to recognize the clinical utility and value of these tests with nuanced, more discreet coding and pricing,” he observed.
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XXII NO. 3 - February 17, 2015 issue
CEO SUMMARY: This is the third installment of THE DARK REPORT’S description of the Laboratory Value Pyramid. It describes “Level Three: Deliver Value that Exceeds Expectations.” This is the level where the laboratory organization now shifts its emphasis from internal operation of the lab to external; to how it contributes added value to its parent hospital and the healthcare community it serves. Level three is where the lab organization can position itself as a recognized contributor to improved patient outcomes that also lower the cost of healthcare.
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXI NO. 9 – June 30, 2014 issue
CEO SUMMARY: Changes in healthcare are motivating health insurers and the nation’s largest lab testing companies to enter into contracts in which the large lab company lowers its lab test prices to the payer in return for having the payer exclude that lab company’s toughest competitors from the payer’s provider network. A number of lab
By R. Lewis Dark, from the Volume XXI NO. 9 – June 30, 2014 issue
IF THERE IS ANY SINGLE SIGN OF TOUGH TIMES FOR LOCAL LABS, it is decreasing access to patients due to the exclusionary contracting tactic of health insurers. That tactic is the subject of our lead story.
Unhappy with this tactic, a number of lab administrators and lab management consultants are starting to say: “I’m as mad
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XIX No. 3 - February 20, 2012 issue
GENOME SEQUENCING TO BE OFFERED BY NORWAY IN NATIONAL HEALTH PLAN
HERE’S A MILESTONE ON THE PATH TO PERSONALIZED MEDICINE. Norway is the first nation to announce that its national health system will incorporate whole genome sequencing.
Cancer is the target of Norway’s first genome sequencing program. What sets the Norwegian program apart from gene testing activities
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XV No. 6 - May 5, 2008 issue
CEO SUMMARY: It is always challenging to ensure consistency and high productivity across the different labs in a consolidated lab organization. To help staff focus on quality and efficiency, Alverno Clinical Laboratories LLC uses Lean methods to improve quality and timely delivery of lab results in its regional core laboratory and the labs in the
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XV No. 4 - March 24, 2008 issue
CEO SUMMARY: Growing numbers of laboratories are taking steps to reengineer work flow, evaluate automation solutions, and improve the operational performance of their laboratory. This is fueling a demand for laboratory consulting services and Ascendium Consulting is this newest healthcare and lab consulting company in this marketplace. It became operational on January 1, 2008, as
By Robert Michel, from the Volume V No. 11 - August 17, 1998 issue
CEO SUMMARY: By now, most clinical laboratory executives and pathologists have discovered a new fact of life: provider status with managed care organizations is a critical success factor. Without provider status, the laboratory is denied access to patients and the reimbursement associated with those patients. Here is candid information about how and why a managed
