By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXV, No. 2 – January 22, 2018 issue
IN THE FIRST EFFORT OF ITS kIND in more than two decades, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has published a request for information (RFI) in the Federal Register as a first step to revise the CLIA rules it promulgated in 1992.
Over the years, CMS has made some minor changes to the rules
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XIX No. 7 - May 14, 2012 issue
CEO SUMMARY: Seeking to improve turnaround time for stat lab tests, the laboratory at Sarasota Memorial Health Care System identified high rates of hemolysis as the chief reason for less than ideal TAT. Because 32% of blood draws were handled by the lab’s phlebotomy staff while 68% of blood draws were performed by nurses and
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XV No. 4 - March 24, 2008 issue
CEO SUMMARY: Lab directors and pathologists should take notice of disturbing new developments in enforcement of CLIA regulations. During the past year, CMS officials have revoked the CLIA certification of several hospital laboratories for what are, essentially, inadvertent violations of proficiency testing (PT) procedures. Revocation of lab’s CLIA certification lasts for one year, and also
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XIV No. 14 - October 8, 2007 issue
CEO SUMMARY: There’s a new lab player emerging in the New York metropolitan market. Shiel Medical Laboratory of Brooklyn, New York, is growing steadily and now reports $50 million in annual revenue. It is taking full advantage of the managed care contracting turmoil and adding new clients at a surprising rate. During the first 12
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XII No. 11 - August 1, 2005 issue
CEO SUMMARY: After learning about quality management systems at a recent Executive War College, the lab director at Pinkus Dermatopathology recognized how such techniques could be used in his lab to improve quality, reduce errors, and create a better working environment for both pathologists and lab staff. ISO-9000 was the quality system of choice because
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XI No. 7 - May 17, 2004 issue
CEO SUMMARY: Here’s an exclusive peek into a three-year battle between medical technologists wanting to do the right thing and a laboratory manager—backed by hospital administration—who aggressively stifled well-justified dissent. It is an inside look at one of the most grievous failures of a hospital-based laboratory in several decades. By knowingly reporting unreliable test results,
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XI No. 5 - April 5, 2004 issue
CEO SUMMARY: An extraordinary story is unfolding in a Baltimore hospital laboratory. Maryland state health officials have uncovered serious operational deficiencies, particularly with HIV and HCV testing performed over a 14-month period. During this same time, a medical technologist now infected with both HIV and HCV claims a malfunctioning laboratory instrument was the source of
By Robert Michel, from the Volume X No. 1 - January 20, 2003 issue
CEO SUMMARY: Here’s our current list of macro trends that affect clinical laboratories, updated from the last list in January 2000. One bold prediction is that Medicare, as we know it, is on the verge of a major meltdown. Employers and consumers are also new forces to be reckoned with by healthcare providers. Factors other
By Robert Michel, from the Volume IX No. 14 - October 7, 2002 issue
CEO SUMMARY: Most laboratorians are acutely aware that the nation’s pool of trained medical technicians and medical technologists is shrinking even as growing numbers of baby-boomer lab techs approach retirement. Meanwhile, training programs are feeding inadequate numbers of new med techs into the system. To rectify this situation, lab directors are actively working to bring
By Robert Michel, from the Volume VIII No. 17 - December 17, 2001 issue
CEO SUMMARY: During 2001, few labs found themselves under intense pressure to change or react to dramatic events in the healthcare marketplace. Like 2000, this past year was marked by evolutionary progress, not revolutionary change. However, continuing signs indicate that consumers will play a greater role in decisions involving lab tests. One surprise: slow growth
