Copay Accumulators Is a New Tactic in Struggle Between Payers and Pharma at Patients’ Expense

Oct 24, 2018 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, Laboratory Testing, Management & Operations

Though patients get a big discount when paying for drugs, copay accumulators prohibit discounts from applying to plan deductibles, extending time it takes for enrollees to reach full plan coverage There’s a new insurance/payer industry tactic in town and Dark Daily thinks clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups should know about it. It’s called a “copay accumulator” and it was designed by payers in response to pharmaceutical company copay assistance cards and discount coupons. How...

The Problems with Ancestry DNA Analyses

Oct 12, 2018 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Management & Operations

Diagnostic medical laboratories may sequence DNA genetic tests correctly, but there are issues with how companies analyze the information In 2017, some 12 million people paid to spit in a tube and have their genetic data analyzed, according to Technology Review. Many companies offer this type of DNA testing, and each of them works with one or more clinical laboratories to get the actual sequencing performed. For example, Ancestry.com, one of the largest direct-to-consumer genetic data testing...

Researchers Easily Reidentify Deidentified Patient Records with 95% Accuracy; Privacy Protection of Patient Test Records a Concern for Clinical Laboratories

Oct 10, 2018 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Management & Operations

Protecting patient privacy is of critical importance, and yet researchers reidentified data using only a few additional data points, casting doubt on the effectiveness of existing federally required data security methods and sharing protocols Clinical laboratories and anatomic pathologists know the data generated by their diagnostics and testing services constitute most of a patient’s personal health record (PHR). They also know federal law requires them to secure their patients’ protected...

Innovative Clinical Laboratories of Hospitals and Health Systems Now Working to Standardize and Rationalize Lab Tests and Lab Services

Sep 24, 2018 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Management & Operations, News From Dark Daily

It’s the next wave in the long-running trend of hospital laboratory consolidation, as the need to trim costs and support thriving medical laboratory outreach programs continues There’s an important new development in the hospital/health system sector of the clinical laboratory industry that continues the longstanding trend of consolidating multi-site lab operations. It is to rationalize and standardize medical laboratory operations across all lab sites within the health system. Effectively,...

CMS Finalizes Rule Rebranding ‘Meaningful Use’ Program to ‘Promoting Interoperability’

Sep 17, 2018 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations

Ongoing federal regulatory push for EHR interoperability requires medical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups to have strategies for ensuring seamless interfaces with providers and hospitals What difference does a name make? Clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups soon may know the answer to that question following the renaming of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) “Meaningful Use” program to “Promoting Interoperability” (PI). CMS first announced the...

Patients Who Post Negative Comments about Healthcare Experiences on Social Media Review Sites Are Being Sued by Physicians and Hospitals; Clinical Laboratories Might Be Similarly Vulnerable to Being Drawn into Lawsuits

Sep 14, 2018 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations

Defamation, libel, harassment, and causing emotional distress are some of the charges patients who launched online negative review campaigns are defending themselves against in court Healthcare systems, surgeons, family practitioners, clinical laboratories, anatomic pathologists—none are immune to receiving negative online reviews from patients who believe they’ve been damaged by their caregivers. And these reviews can have such an impact on practice revenues, doctors and hospitals have begun...