Here’s what you may have missed this week in the clinical lab world. It was a busy week…
Published: April 6 2012
Medical laboratories gain competitive advantage by using GPS and real-time vehicle tracking to improve performance of their couriers
Like everything else in laboratory medicine, even such once-simple operational areas as logistics and courier services are becoming complicated—and more expensive. The reasons are familiar to all clinical laboratory managers and pathologists.
For example, sophisticated new diagnostic technologies require that specimens be transported with greater care to ensure that they arrive at the medical laboratory with full integrity.
Tougher patient privacy laws make it essential that couriers understand how to protect the confidential information that is often printed on the clinical laboratory test requisition forms that are placed in the plastic bags with the lab samples.
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Public Reporting of Hospital-Acquired Infection Rates Still Not Required by a Majority of States
Published: April 4 2012
For example, only 21 states have passed laws requiring some reporting of surgical site infections (SSI)
There is growing pressure on states to collect and report standardized, accurate data on surgical site infections (SSI) and to make that data easily accessible to patients. This renewed focus on open access to performance quality data represents another milestone in the trend toward transparency in provider outcomes and pricing for consumers.
One consequence of increased tracking and reporting of surgical site infections by hospitals is more utilization of clinical laboratory Clinical laboratory tests that are used to identify infections and help physicians monitor the progress of patients with SSIs. Pathologists and microbiologists have an important role in helping hospitals reduce the number of SSIs.
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Carbon Nanotubes Hold Promise for Use in Speedy, Low-cost, Point-of-Care Medical Laboratory Tests
Published: April 2 2012
Clinical laboratory managers and pathologists may see more testing shifting to point-of-care
For years, advocates of carbon nanotubes have predicted that this technology can be used to improve the accuracy and speed of clinical laboratory tests. Researchers at Oregon State University (OSU) now report that they have improved the speed at which a carbon nanotube-based bio-sensor can complete a diagnostic analysis.
Experts believe that advances in this area of technology will make it possible to perform routine point-of-care medical laboratory and pathology tests in minutes at a fraction of current cost.
The researchers at OSU used carbon nanotubes (CNT) to increase the speed of biological sensors. The news was posted on the university’s website. The OSU research team said that, when fully developed, the technology could eventually permit a physician to routinely and quickly perform medical laboraory tests in the office, enabling quicker diagnoses.
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