TAG:
Medical laboratory
A medical laboratory or clinical laboratory is a laboratory where tests are done on clinical specimens in order to get information about the health of a patient as pertaining to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.
Laboratory medicine is generally divided into two sections, each of which being subdivided into multiple units. These two sections are anatomic pathology and clinical pathology.
Distribution of clinical laboratories in health institutions varies greatly from one place to another.
The staff of medical laboratories may include:
- Pathologist
- Clinical biochemist
- Pathologist’s assistant (PA)
- Medical laboratory scientist (MT, MLS or CLS)
- Medical laboratory technician (MLT)
- Medical laboratory assistant (MLA)
- Phlebotomist (PBT)
In many countries, there are two main types of labs that process the majority of medical specimens. Hospital laboratories are attached to a hospital, and perform tests on patients. Private (or community) laboratories receive samples from general practitioners, insurance companies, clinical research sites and other health clinics for analysis.
These can also be called reference laboratories where more unusual and obscure tests are performed. These include Mayo Medical Laboratories, ARUP Laboratories, Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp. For extremely specialized tests, samples may go to a research laboratory. Many samples are sent between different labs for uncommon tests. It is more cost effective if a particular laboratory specializes in a rare test, receiving specimens (and money) from other labs, while sending away tests it cannot perform.
Laboratories today are held together by a system of software programs and computers that exchange data about patients, test requests, and test results known as a laboratory information system or LIS. The LIS is interfaced with the hospital information system.
This system enables hospitals and labs to order the correct test requests for each patient, keep track of individual patient or specimen histories, and help guarantee a better quality of results as well as printing hard copies of the results for patient charts and doctors to check.
Credibility of medical laboratories is paramount to the health and safety of the patients relying on the testing services provided by these labs. The international standard in use today for the accreditation of medical laboratories is ISO 15189. In the United States, under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA), accreditation of medical laboratories is done by the Joint Commission, College of American Pathologists, AAB (American Association of Bioanalysts), and other state and federal agencies. CLIA 88 or the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments also dictate testing and personnel.
July 17, 2017 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News
Here’s an update on Theranos, the troubled lab company that is struggling to stay alive. Once again, reporter John Carreyrou of The Wall Street Journal scooped his peers by reporting that Theranos has listed its corporate offices for lease. For lab companies shopping for …
CEO Describes Characteristics Of the Clinical Lab 2.0 Model
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 Proj…
Cyber Thieves Hit UK Hospitals During Ransomware Attack
AT LEAST 48 HOSPITALS, PHYSICIANS’ OFFICES, and ambulance companies in Britain’s National Health Service were among the many victims of a cyberattack Friday that affected tens of thousands of computers in as many as 150 countries, The New York Times reported. Hackers use…
Diagnostic Error Rate Of 21% Revealed By Mayo Clinic Study
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 additi…
Sale to LabCorp to End Most of PAML’s Lab JVs
CEO SUMMARY: It will take several years to understand how the market for lab testing services will change in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, once Laboratory Corporation of America becomes the owner of PAML, based in Spokane, Wash. Price and financial terms of the sale were not disclose…
PAMA Fee Cuts a Factor in Outreach Lab’s Sale
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, THE UNITED STATES IS ENVIED for the quality and ready access to medical laboratory tests that it delivers to physicians and their patients. Yes, there are criticisms that healt…
In Texas, BeaconLBS Start Will Be Delayed
CEO SUMMARY: UnitedHealthcare will not implement the claims impact part of its laboratory benefit management program in Texas on March 1, 2017, as it had previously announced. Opposition to the program and the requirement that physicians use the BeaconLBS system when ordering about 79 lab…
October 17, 2016 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News
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 int…
Is Theranos Kowtowing To CMS over Pending CLIA Sanctions?
CEO SUMMARY: Having ignored the profession of laboratory medicine for nearly all of its 13-year corporate life, Theranos suddenly began engaging with expert laboratorians last month. The timing of this new outreach coincides with public disclosure that CMS proposed the severest sanctions …
Theranos Saga Just Keeps Getting More Intriguing
This is an excerpt from a 400-word article in the May 2 issue of THE DARK REPORT. The complete article is available paid members of the Dark Intelligence Group. …
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 6 – April 21, 2025
Now that a federal judge has vacated the FDA’s LDT rule, The Dark Report analyzes the judgement and notes the various steps the FDA could take in response. Also, lab testing at pharmacies is proving to be less successful than was once anticipated.
See the full table of contentsHow Much Laboratory Business Intelligence Have You Missed?
Lab leaders rely on THE DARK REPORT for actionable intelligence on important developments in the business of laboratory testing. Maximize the money you make-and the money you keep! Best of all, it is released every three weeks!
Sign up for TDR Insider
Join the Dark Intelligence Group FREE and get TDR Insider FREE!
Never miss a single update on the issues that matter to you and your business.