Jan 23, 2019 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations
FDA cautions patients to not use data gained from the DTC test to make healthcare decisions on their own Clinical laboratories continue to be impacted by the growing direct-to-consumer (DTC) testing market, as more walk-in lab customers order at-home tests. Now, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized a DTC test company to provide results of a pharmacogenetic (PGx) test to customers without needing a doctor’s order. This is the first genetic test of its kind to receive such...
Jan 21, 2019 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations
Experts blame insurance regulators for not ensuring the adequacy of healthcare networks that include hospital-based physicians, such as pathologists and radiologists According to a recent study, clinical laboratories, anatomic pathologists, radiologists, and anesthesiologists top the list of providers who bill patients for the difference between what they charge for their services and a hospital’s contracted reimbursement rates. This so-called “balance-billing” not only causes hardship for...
Jan 16, 2019 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations
Popularity of Medicare Advantage Plans fuels influx of new companies into the marketplace with anticipated enrollment of more than 22.6 million beneficiaries, or more than one-third of Medicare-eligible consumers Continuing enrollment growth in Medicare Advantage plans is expected in 2019 and beyond. The projections are for double-digit percentage increases in Medicare Advantage enrollees. This is not auspicious for clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups because it means a...
Jan 14, 2019 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Management & Operations
All labs face the challenge of coping with shrinking budgets and staffing shortages, which is why coaching, management observation, and continuous improvement initiatives are proving helpful to medical laboratories It’s the biggest generational shift since baby boomers began working in clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups. Across the nation, labs are watching their most experienced and knowledgeable medical technologists and other lab scientists retire. The need to train their...
Dec 14, 2018 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Management & Operations
Though they mostly receive medical laboratory services from their parent health networks, microhospitals may, nevertheless, need services from independent clinical laboratories as well For years, independent clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups have been adapting to healthcare networks undergoing changes based on increased demand for convenient, affordable medical services. One such innovation is the growing trend and popularity of microhospitals, which Dark Daily has reported...
Oct 31, 2018 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
Only 3% of histopathology departments that responded to the Royal College of Pathologists’ workforce census reported enough staff to meet clinical demand There is a chronic shortage of histopathologists in the United Kingdom (UK) and it is being blamed for cancer treatment waiting times that now reach the worst-ever levels, as National Health Service (NHS) training initiatives and other steps fail to keep pace with growing demand for diagnostic services. For US anatomic pathologists and...
