By maryv
This is an excerpt from a 2,000-word article in the May 29, 2018 issue of THE DARK REPORT. The complete article is to all readers as long as the article limit has not been reached, and always available to paid members of the Dark Intelligence Group.
CEO SUMMARY: Seeking the higher lab-test payment rates that insurers
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXV No. 8 – May 29, 2018 issue
CEO SUMMARY: Reporting in The Wall Street Journal shows that some physicians in Arizona were concerned about the harm from erroneous test results from Theranos Inc. But those physicians who expressed concern may have been only a small set of the number of physicians who were worried about patient harm. After reviewing the concerns about
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXV No. 8 – May 29, 2018 issue
CEO SUMMARY: After hospital labs and pathology groups implement Lean and process improvement methods to harvest the easiest cost savings and boost quality, they often take the next step of introducing real-time analytics systems. Access to detailed data about workflows, productivity, and turnaround times then drives continuous improvement projects. At St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXV No. 8 – May 29, 2018 issue
IT’S THE END OF AN ERA for the strategy of being the exclusive national lab provider for a major health insurer. Last week, the two largest clinical laboratory companies announced that the 10-year-old exclusive lab testing deals each had with a different big health insurer had crumbled.
In 2007, Laboratory Corporation of America locked up an
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXV No. 8 – May 29, 2018 issue
CEO SUMMARY: Seeking the higher lab-test payment rates that insurers pay hospital labs, some lab testing companies are buying rural, financially-struggling hospitals in what may be the latest twist on the pass-through billing strategy that certain lab testing firms have found to be lucrative in recent years. Currently, two lab companies are seeking to buy
By R. Lewis Dark, from the Volume XXV No. 8 – May 29, 2018 issue
IT IS AN IMPORTANT SIGN OF THE TIMES when press releases about the two new national lab services agreements that UnitedHealthcare just announced with Laboratory Corporation of America and Quest Diagnostics emphasize how value-based programs will be an important element in the health insurer’s relationships with the two national lab companies.
In fact, the joint announcements
By maryv, from the Volume XXV No. 7 – May 7, 2018 issue
This is an excerpt from a 2,920-word article in the May 7, 2018 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: In an insightful report, THE DARK REPORT shows how one lab
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXV No. 7 – May 7, 2018 issue
CEO SUMMARY: Over the 24 months of a first-generation round of laboratory test utilization management projects, the Cleveland Clinic laboratories prevented more than 30,000 duplicate or inappropriate test orders, saving almost $2.7 million. Now implementing a second-generation of labtest utilization projects, the lab’s seven-year effort has prevented 160,072 tests and saved more than $5 million.
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXV No. 7 – May 7, 2018 issue
CEO SUMMARY: Innovative clinical labs and pathology groups are absorbing this year’s Medicare Part B price cuts while continuing to pursue opportunities to add value. A common theme from many speakers at last week’s Executive War College in New Orleans is that the lab must get mastery of its LIS and informatics specifically to enable
By Jon Stone, from the Volume XXV No. 6 – April 16, 2018 issue
CEO SUMMARY: For many reasons, including cuts to lab test prices that health insurers pay, narrow networks, and more competition for lab test referrals, a significant number of lab companies are seeking ways to increase market share. These methods include the use of new laboratory test arrangements and innovative strategies for pricing lab tests. But
