OIG Finds 120-Day Delays at Memphis VA Path Lab

By Joseph Burns | From the Volume XXVI No. 12 – September 3, 2019 Issue

CEO SUMMARY: Last year, Veterans Administration officials received an anonymous complaint about delays in laboratory specimen processing and results at the Memphis VA Medical Center may have harmed patients and led to a patient death. Following an investigation, the VA’s Office of Inspe…

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Two Federal Court Decisions Are Bad News for Labs

By R. Lewis Dark | From the Volume XXV No. 14 – October 1, 2018 Issue

Every pathologist and clinical lab administrator should pay attention to two federal court decisions made recently in two different legal cases. One decision is bad news for the entire clinical lab industry. The other is bad news for lab companies that push compliance with federal anti-kickback laws….

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Discovery of Pathology Errors Shows Quality Flaws

By R. Lewis Dark | From the Volume XXV No. 6 – April 16, 2018 Issue

MOST PATHOLOGISTS WOULD AGREE THAT PATIENTS AND THEIR PHYSICIANS have every right to expect a timely, accurate lab test result. Stated differently, patients and physicians implicitly trust that a pa…

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Labs Begin Applying Lean to Cut Costs, Add Value

By Joseph Burns | From the Volume XXIV No. 15 – October 30, 2017 Issue

CEO SUMMARY: In more than 40 presentations by 55 speakers, two big themes dominated the 11th annual Lab Quality Confab in New Orleans last week. One theme is the urgent need to cut clinical laboratory costs. The second theme is the need for both clinical labs and anatomic pathology groups…

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Combining Lean with Lab Automation to Get Impressive Results

By Joseph Burns | From the Volume XXII No. 10 – July 13, 2015 Issue

CEO SUMMARY: By combining total lab automation with Lean techniques in a comprehensive makeover of its microbiology lab, one of the largest labs providing hospital acute care and community microbiology services in North America achieved major benefits. Benefits ranged from impro…

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LabCorp, Bio-Reference Labs, Epic, OHSU, Alberta Health

By Robert Michel | From the Volume XX, No. 17 – December 23, 2013 Issue

LABCORP, BRLI ISSUE REVISED GUIDANCE OF LOWER EARNINGS IN RECENT WEEKS, at least two public lab companies have issued downward earnings guidance for 2014. These changes are based, in part, on expected reimbursement reductions from the Medicare program. It was December 10 wh…

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Ottawa Pathology Lab Cuts Turnaround Time By More Than 50%

By Joseph Burns | From the Volume XX No.14 – October 21, 2013 Issue

CEO Summary: Pathologists at Ottawa Hospital not only must handle a large volume of specimens regularly, but are experiencing a 14% per year growth in the number of specimens. Last year, when the average turnaround time for a case was nine days, the pathology department embarked …

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Leica, Aperio, Myriad, AMP, Hologic, Gen-Probe

By Robert Michel | From the Volume XIX No. 12 – August 27, 2012 Issue

LEICA BIOSYSTEMS TO ACQUIRE APERIO FOR THE SECOND TIME IN AS MANY YEARS, a global leader in histology systems and products has announced that it will acquire one of the leading digital pathology companies. This time it is Leica Biosystems of Nussloch, German…

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From Modest Beginnings, Two Lab Networks Find Success

By Robert Michel | From the Volume XIX No. 2 – January 30, 2012 Issue

“For 20 years, our regional laboratory network here in Detroit has played an important role in helping member …

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Allina Opens State-of-the-Art Central Laboratory Facility

By Robert Michel | From the Volume XVIII No. 17 – December 19, 2011 Issue

THIS MONTH, THE NATION’S NEWEST “designed from scratch” clinical laboratory facility began operating in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the central laboratory of Allina Hospitals & Clinics and its design is rooted in Lean and similar process improvement and workflow principle…

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