By Robert Michel, from the Volume XXV No. 16 – November 13, 2018 issue
In recent weeks, Apple signed agreements with the nation’s two largest lab companies to make their lab test data available on Apple’s Health Record app. Laboratory Corporation of America was first to announce its agreement with Apple on Oct. 29. Quest Diagnostics issued its press release about its pact with Apple on Nov. 8. Apple says that
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XXV No. 15 – October 22, 2018 issue
In a time of shrinking lab budgets and falling prices for lab tests in the United States, how are the larger in vitro diagnostic (IVD) manufacturers doing? A look at third-quarter financial reports provides useful insights as to which segments within the IVD industry are doing better than others.
In alphabetical order, here’s a quick snapshot
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XXV No. 13 – September 10, 2018 issue
News that a laboratory’s courier truck was high-jacked in broad daylight with patient specimens aboard puts the spotlight on whether the security practices labs use to protect drivers, vehicles, and the patient specimens they may be carrying are adequate. On Aug. 3 in Durham, N.C., a driver of a courier vehicle owned by Laboratory Corporation of
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XXV No. 12 – August 20, 2018 issue
There is a new sector in the clinical laboratory industry. It is called “global direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic health testing” by Kalorama Information, a market research firm based in Rockville, Md. In a recent report, Kalorama says this sector is comprised of the direct-to-consumer genetic tests which are initiated by the consumer, meaning that the consumer decides
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XXV No. 10 – July 9, 2018 issue
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center of Wake Forest, N.C., has been notified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), in a letter dated June 15, that it is back in compliance with Medicare Conditions of Participation. Earlier this year, following inspection of the hospital and its anatomic pathology department, federal and state officials identified
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XXV No. 9 – June 18, 2018 issue
In New Jersey last week, David Nicoll, 44, the former owner of Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services (BLS) of Parsippany, N.J. was sentenced to 72 months in a federal prison. On the same day, his brother, Scott Nicoll, 37, who also worked at BLS, was sentenced to 43 months in prison. Both had previously pled guilty to U.S.
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XXV, No. 2 – January 22, 2018 issue
In a first for Australia, a pathology lab was given authorization to use patient-collected cervical specimens from eligible women for cervical cancer screening purposes. VCS Pathology of Melbourne, Victoria, was given this authorization by Australia’s National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA). Other pathology labs in Australia are expected to be granted similar authorization in coming
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XXIV, No. 17 – December 11, 2017 issue
To deal with a shortage of surgical pathologists in the United Kingdom, the British National Health Service (NHS) is looking at solutions, such as deployment of digital pathology systems. According to a story in Pharma Times, the NHS is negotiating with Roche Diagnostics and partners to develop a program to implement digital pathology systems across the
By Robert Michel, from the Volume XXIV, No. 14 – October 9, 2017 issue
Sept. 22 was the day that an agreement to sell Miraca Life Sciences (MLS) of Irving, Texas, was announced. Miraca Holdings will sell the anatomic pathology lab company to Avista Capital Partners. As part of the transaction, a new holding company, called Symphony Buyer, will be formed and will own MLS. Miraca Holdings will be
By R. Lewis Dark, from the Volume XXIV, No. 10 – July 17, 2017 issue
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 office space in Palo Alto, Calif., Theranos has listed its 116,172 square
