By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXIV, No. 9 – June 26, 2017 issue
CEO SUMMARY: Since 2014, a toxicology lab at the University of Colorado has used mass spectrometry to offer low-cost, accurate multi-analyte test panels that can detect hundreds of therapeutic drugs and drugs of abuse. However, CU Toxicology’s chief medical officer says health insurers are slow to accept this diagnostic technology, despite its demonstrated clinical benefit
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXIV, No. 9 – June 26, 2017 issue
CEO SUMMARY: In Dallas, the relatively short-lived lab company known as Med Fusion has a new owner. After seven years, the lab partnership of Baylor Scott and White, US Oncology Network, Texas Oncology, and Pathologists Bio-Medical Laboratories decided to sell their ownership stakes to Quest Diagnostics. The sale comes despite $100 million of capital and
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XXIV, No. 9 – June 26, 2017 issue
CEO SUMMARY: News that Quest Diagnostics had exited the long-running CompuNet Clinical Laboratory joint venture in Dayton, Ohio, caught many observers by surprise. The only clues as to possible problems and the motivation of Premier Health, the 51% owner, to buy out Quest’s ownership share are contained in an announcement the health system issued. The
By Mary Van Doren, from the Volume XXIV, No. 9 – June 26, 2017 issue
This is an excerpt from a 1,362-word article in the June 26, 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: For lab managers worried about being parceled out to a national
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XXIV, No. 8 – June 5, 2017 issue
AN INTERNAL MEDICINE PHYSICIAN who practiced in Yonkers, N.Y., is the latest physician to admit to taking bribes in connection with a laboratory test referral scheme that Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC (BLS), of Parsippany, N.J., operated for years.
The physician, Ricky J. Sayegh, MD, 44, of Scarsdale, N.Y., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R.
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXIV, No. 7 – May 15, 2017 issue
CEO SUMMARY: Moving away from volume-based care will not be easy for clinical labs. After all, high volume sustains labs. But labs seeking to transition away from fee-for-service to value-based care must have a seat at the table where decisions are made, said a lab CEO who is part of Project Santa Fe, which wants
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXIV, No. 7 – May 15, 2017 issue
CEO SUMMARY: As one response to the FDA’s efforts to regulate laboratory-developed tests, some large labs and IVD manufacturers organized the Diagnostic Test Working Group. It has engaged with congressional officials to draft legislation that would establish a risk-based review of both laboratory-developed tests and in vitro diagnostic test kits, changing current regulatory protocols for
By Joseph Burns, from the Volume XXIV, No. 6 – April 24, 2017 issue
CEO SUMMARY: Researchers at the Mayo Clinic showed that only 12% of patients referred to Mayo physicians for a second opinion got a confirmation that their original diagnosis was complete and correct. In 21% of the cases, the diagnosis was completely changed. Among patients who got additional work ups for a second opinion, some 80%
By R. Lewis Dark, from the Volume XXIV, No. 6 – April 24, 2017 issue
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS SIGNAL THAT THE FIGHT over FDA regulation of laboratory-developed tests (LDTs) is about to intensify. Last month, two Congressional representatives announced a new bill about LDTs that they said was a “discussion draft.” The bill is titled the “Diagnostic Accuracy and Innovation Act (DAIA).”
It was a big deal in 2014 when the Food
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XXIV, No. 5 – April 3, 2017 issue
CEO SUMMARY: In a letter to the Texas Legislature, 20 Texas medical societies say UnitedHealthcare’s BeaconLBS program would be detrimental to patient care. The Texas Medical Association and the Texas Society of Pathologists said they were concerned that the program increases the administrative burden on referring physicians, takes away a physicians’ right to choose a
