Clinical Diagnostics Laboratory in Texas Charged $2,315 for One Coronavirus Test and Later Claims High Price Was a ‘Billing Error’

Jul 27, 2020 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology

Media reporting on disparities in COVID-19 test billing sparks renewed calls for increased transparency in medical laboratory test charges Recent media reports of massive disparities in the prices charged for COVID-19 lab tests throughout the United States have citizens and law makers alike again calling for increased transparency in clinical laboratory test charges. One recent example involves the New York Times (NYT), which after learning that Austin-based Gibson Diagnostic Labs (GDL) of...

Pathologists Bill Out-of-Network More Frequently than Other Specialties, According to Health Care Cost Institute Study

Jul 13, 2020 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations

Two national studies find pathologists bill out-of-network more frequently than other hospital-based specialties, and one study links that behavior to insurer reimbursement rates Surprise bills for out-of-network services continue to be an important issue for healthcare consumers. Now comes a recently-released report from the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) claiming that pathologists are the specialists that most often bill for out-of-network hospital charges.   The HCCI study examined the...

Mobile Device Software Companies Are Developing Smartphone Apps That Use Artificial Intelligence to Test for COVID-19, Potentially Bypassing the Clinical Laboratory Altogether

Jun 19, 2020 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing

This is another example of technology companies working to develop medical laboratory testing that consumers can use without requiring a doctor’s order for the test Here’s new technology that could be a gamechanger in the fight against COVID-19 if further research allows it to be used in patient care. The goal of the researchers involved is to enable individuals to test for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus from home with the assistance of a smartphone app enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI)....

Because of the COVID-19 Outbreak, AACC Reschedules Its Annual Conference to December in Chicago and Executive War College Reschedules Its Conference in New Orleans to July

Apr 8, 2020 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, International Laboratory News, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, Laboratory Testing, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations, News From Dark Daily, Precision Medicine

Two major clinical laboratory conferences reschedule, as the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic continues to disrupt long-planned events; Many labs are losing money as fewer patients visit physicians This week, the ongoing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic was responsible for two important developments in the clinical laboratory industry. Both involved the rescheduling of major annual conferences. In both cases, conference organizers are placing different bets on when they...

Federal Advisory Committee Seeks Public Comments on Revising CLIA Regulations, says Keynote Speaker at 13th Annual Lab Quality Confab in Atlanta

Oct 16, 2019 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Pathology, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations, News From Dark Daily

At The Dark Report’s annual Lab Quality Confab for clinical laboratory administrators, managers, and quality team members, experts outline how disruption in healthcare requires labs to improve processes and cut costs ATLANTA, Oct. 15, 2019—Clinical laboratory professionals have a chance to advise the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on how the federal government could revise the regulations under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA). That’s...

Clinical Laboratory Leaders Agree: Showing Value Is More Important than Ever as Healthcare Transitions Away from Fee-for Service Reimbursement

Sep 25, 2019 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, Laboratory Testing, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations, News From Dark Daily

How medical laboratories can show value through process improvement methods and analytics will be among many key topics presented at the upcoming Lab Quality Confab conference Quality management is the clinical laboratory’s best strategy for surviving and thriving in this era of shrinking lab budgets, PAMA price cuts, and value-based payment. In fact, the actions laboratories take in the next few months will set the course for their path to clinical success and financial sustainability in 2020...