DARK Daily Laboratory and Pathology News
DARK Daily is an e-briefing service providing up-to-the minute news of relevance for anyone working in diagnostic medicine, from clinical laboratories and pathology groups to lab industry suppliers and diagnostic technology companies. DARK Daily is part of The Dark Intelligence Group, Inc. and is dedicated to bringing useful business and management intelligence to laboratory managers, pathologists and diagnostic executives. Our recognized expertise in the strategic direction of laboratory medicine and the management of laboratories is available through DARK Daily, The Dark Report, the Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management, timely White Papers, and strategic consulting services.Latest E-Briefings
PAML & Providence Health Announce Clinical Pathology Laboratory Joint Venture in California
Hospital lab—commercial medical laboratory collaboration will launch in San Fernando Valley
Yesterday, Pathology Associates Medical Laboratories (PAML) announced a new clinical pathology laboratory joint venture (JV) that is likely to create a tough new laboratory competitor in Southern California.
Spokane, Washington-based PAML and Renton, Washington-based Providence Health & Services will create a new medical laboratory services company to serve California’s San Fernando Valley and its surrounding communities. The new company will begin operating early in 2011 and will be called California Laboratory Associates (CLA), LLC. CLA will provide routine laboratory testing services to medical practices and hospitals from the recently remodeled labs at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, and more specialized reference and esoteric testing from PAML’s laboratory in Washington.
NIH Plans To Create New Genetics Testing Registry of Molecular Diagnostics Tests Offered by Clinical Pathology Laboratories
Comprehensive genetic test database intended for use by pathologists, physicians, researchers and consumers
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers will soon have a comprehensive registry of genetic tests that they can consult as needed. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is creating a single public registry with detailed information about both genetic test providers and the 1,600+ genetic tests these providers offer.
The NIH believes the genetic test registry will bring greater transparency to the field. It hopes that the registry creates increased information-sharing about the different genetic tests which are available. Participation in the registry will be voluntary, though groups such as the Genetic Alliance have called for making it mandatory to help weed out what they call “the bad actors” in the industry.
Many Genetic Tests Offered to Consumers Over the Internet are Misleading and of No Practical Use
GAO Gives Congress a Poor Report on Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Tests Sold by Web-Based Companies
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic tests from the four companies 23andMe, Navigenics, Knome, and Illumina, are generating results “that are misleading and of little or no practical use.” This was the finding of the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) in its recently released report.
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers will be interested to know that the GAO sent multiple specimens to these four companies—each of which is organized to sell genetic tests and molecular diagnostics directly to consumers via the Internet. The GAO determined that, even when given identical DNA samples, the tests from these four companies yielded contradictory results.
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Ranking the Nation’s 25 Largest Healthcare Systems by Employees
Topping the list are, the Veterans Administration and HCA, which together employee almost 200,000 people
Recently, a ranking of the nation’s top 25 healthcare systems by number of employees was published. In the number one spot is the Veteran’s Affairs (VA) Department. It employs 207,000 employees. Ranked number two is HCA, Inc., the for-profit hospital corporation. It has 77,000 employees.
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers will recognize that both the VA and HCA are national healthcare systems. By contrast, New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System ranks number five on the list with 55,048 employees and its locations are clustered in and around New York City.
Roche Fuels the Digital Pathology “Gold Rush” by Paying $100 Million to Acquire BioImagene
Hefty purchase price sends message to pathologists and clinical laboratory executives
For any pathologist still harboring doubts about the future of digital pathology, yesterday’s surprise news that Roche Holding AG (VTX:ROG.VX) will pay $100 million to acquire BioImagene, Inc., provides compelling evidence that the digital pathology marketplace is ready for prime time.
Roche announced that it will pay $100 million to buy privately-held BioImagene of Sunnyvale, California. The purchase will be handled by Roche’s Ventana Medical Systems, Inc., and the deal is expected to close in just a few weeks. After the acquisition, BioImagene will operate as part of Ventana. BioImagene has emerged as one of the early leaders in selling digital scanners and digital pathology systems.
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