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
This is an excerpt from a 2,350-word article in the Oct. 30, 2017 issue of THE DARK REPORT. The complete article is available for a limited time to all readers, and available at all times to paid members of the Dark Intelligence Group.
CEO SUMMARY: Growing numbers of hospitals are being asked to enter into a
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXIV, No. 15 – October 30, 2017 issue
CEO SUMMARY: Management companies using a new generation of potentially fraudulent schemes are targeting hospitals and health systems for arrangements that use questionable means to increase lab test volume and revenue. The management companies often use the term “hospital outpatient department (HOPD) billing model” to describe these arrangements. The scammers want the hospitals, as in-network
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXIV, No. 15 – October 30, 2017 issue
CEO SUMMARY: In the past year, both national laboratory companies have increased the number of patient service centers they operate in retail pharmacies and grocery stores. But these PSCs are not serving direct access testing (DAT) customers. Rather, early evidence indicates that patients are finding it more convenient to go to their nearby grocery stores
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XXIII No. 14 – October 17, 2016 issue
Quebec’s provincial health authority is moving forward with what may be one of the largest consolidations of clinical laboratory testing undertaken in North America during the past 30 years. The goal is to bring the lab testing currently done in as many as 500 locations throughout the province into 11 “high-volume processing centers.” The project, called
This is an excerpt from a 1,000-word article in the June 13 issue of THE DARK REPORT. The original article is available to paid members of the Dark Intelligence Group.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The disruptor’s plans have been thoroughly disrupted. As this issue of THE DARK REPORT went to press, it was learned that Walgreens had announced
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XXIII, No. 8 – June 13, 2016 issue
BREAKING NEWS: As this issue of THE DARK REPORT went to press, it was learned that Walgreens had announced the termination of its lab testing agreement with Theranos, effective immediately. Theranos loses access to about 40 Walgreens pharmacies in Phoenix and is left with about five patient collection centers. The following story summarizes developments involving
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXIII, No. 7 - May 23, 2016 issue
CEO SUMMARY: Two years ago, the rate of hemolysis in blood drawn in the Cleveland Clinic’s Emergency Department was about nine times higher than the ASCP recommended rate of 2%. With a two-year cooperative agreement and funding from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the ED and clinical lab staff developed a quality
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXII, NO. 18 - December 28, 2015 issue
CEO SUMMARY: There is a new buyer for lab test data, creating an opportunity for labs to build a new revenue stream. Medivo, Inc., of New York, describes itself as a healthcare data analytics company whose mission is to unlock the power of lab data to improve health. It works with clinical labs and pathology
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXII No. 14 - October 5, 2015 issue
CEO SUMMARY: In Seattle, Tasso Inc., a start-up company, is developing a device that adheres to the skin and collects capillary blood that can be used for lab testing. Tasso says the device is a less invasive than a venipuncture. At the same time, executives at Tasso recognize that, for many types of lab tests,
