Clinical Laboratory Technician Shares Personal Journey and Experience with Burnout During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Jan 13, 2023 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Resources, Laboratory Testing

It’s not only medical laboratory technicians, healthcare workers across the board continue to deal with extreme pressures that preceded the pandemic Burnout in healthcare is a constant problem, especially in overstressed clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups. To raise awareness about the plight of medical laboratory technicians (MLTs) and other frontline workers in the healthcare industry, a former lab tech recounted her experience during the COVID-19 pandemic that led to burnout...

Study Shows Huge Increase in Bloodstream Infections in Europe During First Two Years of COVID-19 Pandemic

Jan 11, 2023 | International Laboratory News, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing

Clinical laboratory data was key in identifying antibiotic-resistant bacteria responsible for surge in BSIs in hospitals and other healthcare facilities in 2020 and 2021 Clinical laboratory data compiled by the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS-Net) shows that a massive increase in bloodstream infections (BSIs) occurred among EU nations during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study found that BSIs caused by certain antimicrobial-resistant (AMR)...

HHS Office of Inspector General Report Finds ‘Steep Decreases’ in Medicare Beneficiaries Receiving Clinical Laboratory Testing During COVID-19 Pandemic’s Early Months

Dec 28, 2022 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Resources, Laboratory Testing, Molecular Diagnostics, Genetic Testing, Whole Gene Sequencing

OIG warns that without adequate clinical laboratory testing healthcare organizations could see more deaths and increased spending Clinical laboratory leaders and pathologists know that lab test volume decreased dramatically during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. That was primarily because community lockdowns stopped people from seeing their doctors for the standard range of chronic health conditions, many of which require clinical laboratory tests for diagnosis and chronic disease...

Early Appearance of RSV Cases, Combined with Influenza and COVID-19, Raises Concern about Possibility of a Tripledemic During This Flu Season

Nov 9, 2022 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Resources, Laboratory Testing

Experts advise clinical laboratories to prepare now for a marked increase in demand for RSV, COVID-19, and influenza testing Are the COVID-19 lockdowns responsible for the increase in cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)? Some physicians believe that may be the case and it has hospitals, clinical laboratories, and pathology groups scrambling to prepare for a possible “tripledemic,” according to UC Davis Health. The addition of RSV as we move into what is predicted to be a bad influenza...

Study Shows School-Aged Children Can Successfully Swab Themselves for COVID-19 Tests, But Is This Something That Can Help Short-Staffed Medical Laboratories?

Oct 17, 2022 | Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Resources, Laboratory Testing

Encouraging patients—even children—to be more directly involved in their own medical care may reduce the burden on healthcare workers and might even help those clinical laboratories struggling to hire enough phlebotomists to collect specimens Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have concluded a study which found that school-aged children can successfully use a nasal swab to obtain their own SARS-CoV-2 test specimens. This may come as a surprise to hospital and clinical...