Jun 22, 2018 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations, Webinars
As PAMA brings estimated Medicare reimbursement cuts of up to 30% over the next three years to a range of typically high-volume tests and diagnostics, medical laboratories that wish to stay competitive must understand the needs of managed care payers and learn how to optimize collections, reduce denials, and communicate value effectively or risk their financial health In what experts have called the biggest financial upheaval for the healthcare industry in three decades, the onset of new...
Jun 20, 2018 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
Medical laboratories prepared to receive direct payments for services rendered will have an advantage as more physicians’ practices convert to concierge medicine and stop taking insurance or Medicare A growing number of physicians are looking at new care delivery models as increasing costs and narrow networks drive patients into high-deductible health plans (HDHPs). These can include concierge medicine and direct primary care. Clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups will need to...
Jun 15, 2018 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
Often when a hospital health system buys an independent physicians’ practice, the new owner would like its clinical laboratory to serve that medical group After a hospital or health system buys a physicians’ practice, it is common that the new owner has its in-house medical laboratory provide lab testing to the newly-acquired medical group. Such a purchase is generally good for hospital labs, but not so good for any independent lab that, prior to the sale, had been serving the newly-sold...
Jun 13, 2018 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
Access to vast banks of genomic data is powering a new wave of assessments and predictions that could offer a glimpse at how genetic variation might impact everything from Alzheimer’s Disease risk to IQ scores Anatomic pathology groups and clinical laboratories have become accustomed to performing genetic tests for diagnosing specific chronic diseases in humans. Thanks to significantly lower costs over just a few years ago, whole-genome sequencing and genetic DNA testing are on the path to...
Jun 8, 2018 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
As standard masks are used they collect exhaled airborne pathogens that remain living in the masks’ fibers, rendering them infectious when handled Surgical-style facial masks harbor a secret—viruses that could be infectious to the people wearing them. However, masks can become effective virus killers as well. At least that’s what researchers at the University of Alberta (UAlberta) in Edmonton, Canada, have concluded. If true, such a re-engineered mask could protect clinical laboratory workers...
Jun 6, 2018 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
In what could be a major boon to clinical laboratories and healthcare providers, researchers found that fears of rampant testing and ballooning spending due to results of whole-genome sequencing may be less of a concern than opponents claim Clinical laboratory testing and personalized medicine (AKA, precision medicine) continue to reshape how the healthcare industry approaches treating disease. And, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) has shown promise in helping in vitro diagnostic (IVD) companies...
