US Hospitals Continue to Be Squeezed by Shortage of Nurses, Rising Salaries

It is more than a shortage of nurses, as most clinical laboratories report the same shortages of medical technologists and increased labor costs Just as hospital-based clinical laboratories are unable to hire and retain adequate numbers of medical technologists (MTs) and clinical laboratory scientists (CLSs), the nursing shortage is also acute. Compounding the challenge of staffing nurses is the rapid rise in the salaries of nurses because hospitals need nurses to keep their emergency...

England’s National Health Service to Offer Widespread Rapid Whole Genome Sequencing for Children and Babies

Research in the UK and US into how rapid WGS can prevent deaths and improve outcomes for kids with rare genetic diseases may lead to more genetic testing based in local clinical laboratories Genetic scientists with the National Health Service (NHS) in England have embarked on an ambitious plan to offer rapid whole genome sequencing (rWGS) for children and babies with serious illnesses, as part of a larger initiative to embrace genomic medicine in the United Kingdom (UK). The NHS estimates that...

Genomic Scientists Are Working to Make Human Reference Genome More Inclusive by Expanding the Pangenome

Project aims to create a new pangenome for genetic testing that will ensure better clinical laboratory testing and healthcare outcomes Recent advances in genetics are motivating some scientists to proclaim the need to update the existing “master human genome”—currently based on a single individual’s genetic sequence—to make it more inclusive. This international research effort will have implications for personalized clinical laboratory testing and precision medicine. Genetic scientists at the...

Australian Researchers Discover New Form of Antimicrobial Resistance in Findings That Have Implications for Microbiology Laboratories

Study findings could lead to new biomarker targets for clinical laboratories working to identify AMR bacteria Reducing and managing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major goal of researchers and health systems across the globe. And it is the job of microbiologists and clinical laboratories to identify microbes that are AMR and those which are not to guide physicians as to the most appropriate therapies for patients with bacterial infections. Thus, a recent discovery by researchers at the...

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

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)...

Cambridge University Researchers Develop and Administer Lab-developed Red Blood Cells in Clinical Study with Promising Results for the Blood Supply

Sickle cell patients and others who need long-term blood transfusions provided by clinical laboratories and others would benefit most from successfully lab-grown blood Administering lab-developed red blood cells in humans in a clinical study conducted in the United Kingdom (UK) is being hailed as a significant step forward in efforts to supplement the supply of whole blood through the development of synthetic blood products. Of interest to those clinical laboratory managers overseeing hospital...
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