Aug 27, 2019
PRESS RELEASE
THE DARK REPORT
21806 Briarcliff Dr.
Spicewood, TX 78669
512-264-7103 o
512-264-0969 f
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Chris Garcia
chris@darkreport.com
AUSTIN, Texas (August 27, 2019) The clinical laboratory industry is increasingly revolving around hospitals, health systems, and other integrated care delivery networks. Laboratories continue to be challenged with reimbursement reductions, value-based contracting demands, financial outcomes measured as total cost of care, not to mention a demand for complex and costly technologies.
“These factors, along with many others, contribute to the need for laboratory directors and hospital and health system executives to now consider alternatives to traditional practice models,” stated Robert L. Michel, Editor-In-Chief of The Dark Report. “Considering these emerging lab business models goes hand-in-hand with the challenge of determining those alternatives which are viable for their particular organization.”
An all-new webinar, “How to Assess the Potential of Your Hospital or Health Network Laboratory During This Era of Declining Lab Reimbursement, Integrated Care Models, and Personalized Medicine, being held Wednesday, August 28, 2019 at 1 PM EDT, is a must-attend event for every member of the hospital, health system, or lab team responsible for the research and consideration of emerging laboratory business models such as joint ventures, affiliations, and partnership models. During this webinar, answers to tough questions will be provided, in addition to the information needed to make the right decisions for the laboratory—those that will enhance patient care, while enabling fiscal responsibility and ongoing financial success.
Attendees will learn how instituting strong medical leadership including physicians, operational leaders, medical technologists, and others— plus preserving onsite clinical expertise, enabling access to external support including innovative reimbursement strategies and technologies, along with the introduction of other key principles, can effectively contribute to their lab’s long-term health and financial sustainability.
Expert presenters are Jerry W. Hussong, MD, MBA, Chief Executive Officer, Sonic Healthcare USA, and Paul Fiedler, MD, Chair, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Western Connecticut Health Network.
During the 60-minute session, which will include an interactive Q&A session, webinar participants will:
- Examine the top 3 market shifts around integrated care delivery that most affect clinical labs
- Explore the value of joint ventures, affiliations, and externals partnerships and how they can enhance medical care and improve a lab’s bottom line
- Compare the specific challenges of make vs. outsource vs. partnership business decisions
- Be able to identify appropriate opportunities for the lab and the associated due diligence considerations
- Evaluate the factors contributing to a sustainable partnership, including integrating local infrastructure and clinical expertise with external resources and technologies
- Understand how to apply medical leadership principles to set the foundation for high-quality, cost-effective integrated patient care
For more information about “How to Assess the Potential of Your Hospital or Health Network Laboratory During This Era of Declining Lab Reimbursement, Integrated Care Models, and Personalized Medicine,” and to view webinar details, click here.
About THE DARK REPORT
Established in 1995, THE DARK REPORT is the leading source of exclusive business intelligence for laboratory CEOs, COOs, CFOs, Pathologists and Senior industry executives. It is widely read by leaders in laboratory medicine and diagnostics. The Dark Report produces the famous Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management every spring, which showcases innovations by the nation’s and globe’s leading laboratory organizations. Dark Daily is an Internet-based e-briefing intelligence service, read worldwide by thought leaders in laboratory and pathology management. Other well-known conferences conducted by THE DARK REPORT are Lab Quality Confab (on the use of Lean and Six Sigma methods in labs and hospitals) and Molecular Summit (on the integration of in vivo and in vitro diagnostics). THE DARK REPORT co-produces Frontiers in Laboratory Medicine annually in the United Kingdom; Executive Edge bi-annually in Canada; and The Business of Pathology bi-annually in Australia.
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Aug 2, 2019
How to Assess the Potential of Your Hospital or Health Network Laboratory During This Era of Declining Lab Reimbursement, Integrated Care Models, and Personalized Medicine Dark Daily Webinar – Held Wednesday, August 28, 2019 Please contact us at 512-264-7103 or info@darkreport.com for information The clinical laboratory industry is increasingly revolving around hospitals, health systems, and other integrated care delivery networks. Laboratories continue to be challenged with reimbursement...
Nov 28, 2018 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
Clinical laboratory leaders aiming for patient-centered care and precision medicine outcomes need to acknowledge that patients do not want to be in hospitals or travel to physician offices and patient care centers for blood tests. It can be inconvenient, sometimes costly, and often painful.
That’s why disease management methods such as remote patient monitoring are appealing to many people. It’s a big market estimated to reach $1 billion by 2020, according to a Transparency Market Research Report. The study also associated popularity of devices such as heart rate and respiratory rate monitors with economic pressures of unnecessary hospital readmissions.
But can remote patient monitoring be used for more than to check heart rates, monitor blood glucose, and track activity levels? Could such technology be effectively leveraged by medical laboratories for remote blood sampling?
Microsampling versus Dried Blood Collecting
Remote patient monitoring must be able to address a large number of diseases and chronic health conditions for it to continue to expand and gain acceptance as a viable way to care for patients in different settings outside of hospitals. However, as most clinical pathologists and laboratory scientists know, clinical laboratory testing has an essential role in patient monitoring. Thus, there is the need for a way to collect blood and other relevant samples from patients in these remote settings.
One promising approach is the development of new microsampling technology that can overcome past obstacles of dried blood collection. Furthermore, microsampling-enabled devices can make it possible for medical laboratories to reach out to the homebound to secure accurate and volumetrically appropriate samples in a cost-effective manner.
“One well-established fact in today’s healthcare system is that an ever-greater proportion of patients want clinical care that is less invasive and less intrusive,” noted Robert Michel, Editor-in-Chief of Dark Daily and The Dark Report. “Patients want to take more control over their treatment and be more effective at maintaining the stability of their chronic conditions, and often are happier than those who need to travel to have chronic conditions monitored. To meet this need there has been significant innovation, particularly in the area of remote blood sampling using microsampling technology.”
For decades, medical laboratories have tried various methods for acquiring and transporting blood samples from remote locations. One such non-invasive alternative to venipuncture is called dried blood spot (DBS) collecting. It involves placing a fingerprick of blood on filter paper and allowing it to dry prior to transport to the lab.
But DBS collected bio samples often do not contain enough hematocrit (volume percentage of red blood cells) for laboratories and clinical pathologists to provide accurate reports and interpretations. Reported reasons DBS cards have not penetrated a wide market include:
- Hematocrit bias or effect;
- Costly card punching and automation equipment; and,
- Possible disruption to existing lab workflows.
Microsampling Technology Enables Collection of Appropriate Samples
Microsampling has to have the capability to enable labs to deliver quality results from reliable blood samples. This remote sampling technology makes it possible for phlebotomists to offer a comfortable collection alternative for homebound patients and rural residents. It also can be useful for physicians stationed in remote areas. Patients themselves can even collect their own blood samples.
Volumetric Absorptive Microsampling (VAMS) technology enables accurate samples of blood or other fluids from amounts as small as 10, 20, or 30 microliters, according to Neoteryx, LLC, of Torrance, Calif., the developer of VAMS. The technology is integrated into the company’s Mitra microsampler blood collection devices (shown above) in formats for patient use and for medical laboratory microsample accessioning and extraction. Click here to watch a video on the Mitra Microsampler Specimen Collection Device. (Photo copyright: Neoteryx.)
One company developing these types of products is Neoteryx, LLC, of Torrance, Calif. It develops, manufactures, and distributes microsampling products. Patients with the company’s Mitra device use a lancet to puncture their skin and draw a small amount of blood, collect it on the device’s absorptive tip, and then mail the samples to a blood lab for testing (Neoteryx does not perform testing).
“Technologies such VAMS are driving [precision medicine] in an extremely cost-effective manner, while only requiring minimal patient effort. Patients are taking a more active role in their healthcare journeys, and at-home sampling is supporting this shift,” stated Fasha Mahjoor, Chief Executive Officer, Neoteryx, in a blog post. (Photo copyright: Neoteryx.)
Patient satisfaction survey data collected by Neoteryx suggest patients are comfortable with their role in blood collection:
- 70% are comfortable or very comfortable with the process;
- 86% say it is easy or very easy to use the Mitra device;
- 92% report it is easy to capture blood on the device’s tip;
- 55% of Mitra device users are likely or very likely to choose microsampling over traditional venipuncture; and,
- 93% noted they are likely or very likely to choose the device for child care.
A list of published studies describes certain advantages of VAMS technology that have implications for medical laboratories and clinical pathologists:
- Microsampling has benefits and implications for therapeutic drug monitoring, infectious disease research, and remote specimen collection;
- Dried blood microsamples from fingerstick can generate reliable data “correlating” to traditional blood collection processes;
- Bioanalytical data collected with the Mitra device are accurate and dependable; and,
- In a study for a panel of anti-epileptic drugs, VAMS led to optimized extraction efficiency above 86%, which means there was no hematocrit bias.
Learn More by Requesting the Dark Daily Microsampling White Paper
To help medical laboratories and clinical pathologists learn more about microsampling and VAMS devices, Dark Daily and The Dark Report have produced a white paper titled “How to Create a Patient-Centered Lab with Breakthrough Blood Collection Technology: Microsampling Takes Blood Collection Out of the Clinic.” The paper includes sections addressing these topics:
- Rise of patient-centered care and remote patient monitoring;
- Dried blood collection over the years and the hematocrit effect;
- A look at microsampling and how it takes blood collection out of the clinic;
- How Volumetric Absorptive Microsampling (VAMS) technology works;
- Patient satisfaction data;
- Research about microsampling including extensive graphics;
- Launching new VAMS technology; and,
- Frequently asked questions.
Innovative medical laboratory leaders who want to increase their understanding of how microsampling technology and remote patient monitoring relates to the goal of becoming a patient-centered lab are encouraged to request a copy of the white paper. It can be downloaded at no cost by clicking here, or placing https://www.darkdaily.com/how-to-create-a-patient-centered-lab-with-breakthrough-blood-collection-technology-9-2018/ into your browser.
—Donna Marie Pocius
Related Information:
Remote Patient Monitoring Devices Market
Neoteryx, LLC, and Cedars Sinai Partner to Investigate at Home Blood Sampling Possibilities for Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Creating a Patient-Centered Lab with Breakthrough Blood Collection Technology Using New Microsampling Methods Provides Reliable, Economic Collection, Shipping and Storage Solutions
How to Create a Patient-Centered Lab with Breakthrough Blood Collection Technology: Microscopy Takes Blood Collection Out of the Clinic
Jun 1, 2018
PRESS RELEASE
THE DARK REPORT
21806 Briarcliff Dr.
Spicewood, TX 78669
512-264-7103 o
512-264-0969 f
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Chris Garcia
chris@darkreport.com
AUSTIN, Texas (June 1, 2018) – Medicine is rapidly shifting from a traditional one-size-fits-all approach to an individualized predictive and personalized medicine model, with care customized for each patient. Uniquely positioned within this shifting healthcare paradigm are molecular and clinical laboratories that can provide healthcare teams with access to a rich repository of actionable genetic data.
Pathologists are becoming the point persons as personalized medicine becomes the norm. With next generation sequencing (NGS) accelerating the pace of discoveries, prevention and treatment will no longer be centered around “standards of care” that result in a predetermined sequence of therapies. Instead, a patient’s genome, lifestyle, and environment will combine to pinpoint an effective and individualized treatment plan.
“Because NGS is the engine powering much of this new genetic information and igniting the potential of personalized medicine, clinical laboratories have an ideal opportunity to add clinical value and generate a new revenue source by adopting NGS technologies,” said Robert L. Michel, Editor-In-Chief of The Dark Report. “But because the NGS modality places significant demands on most current laboratory information systems and leaves them lacking crucial functionality, labs need to have in place a LIMS specifically designed to accommodate personalized medicine’s informatics integration and workflow challenges in order to successfully integrate NGS.”
Addressing the important topic of next-generation sequencing (NGS) is a recently published White Paper from The Dark Report, entitled “How Next-Generation Sequencing Helps Molecular Laboratories Deliver Personalized Medicine Services to their Client Physicians.” Published by The Dark Report and Dark Daily, it is available free to laboratory professionals as a PDF download.
This White Paper discusses the growing role of NGS in clinical care and its potential to fuel the transformation to predictive medicine, as well as pathologists’ contributions to this emerging paradigm and the laboratory information technology and informatics they will need to remain at the forefront of change. Because NGS services represent a major financial commitment by laboratories, the advantages of using NGS testing as a tool to retain and grow a lab’s customer base is also examined.
The paper provides a detailed discussion regarding:
- The growing role of NGS in clinical care
- NGS’ return on investment for clinical and molecular laboratories
- The role of pathologists, as NGS accelerates the transition to predictive and personalized medicine
- The information technology and tools laboratories need to successfully offer NGS-based services
- Benefits of outsourcing annotation and interpretation of gene sequences and test-result reporting
- What clinical and molecular laboratories need to know about marketing NGS services to new and existing clients
Medicine is transforming from reactive to proactive, predictive care—with NGS on the verge of being transformative in many ways as it provides a direction destined to accelerate the shift in care models, and ushers in personalized medicine at the genomic level. Pathologists are uniquely qualified to advance the cause of personalized medicine among regulators, insurers, providers, and patients, but can only do so if the best health informatics technology is at their fingertips. To learn more, download “How Next-Generation Sequencing Helps Molecular Laboratories Deliver Personalized Medicine Services to their Client Physicians” here. This is a free publication of Dark Daily, comprised of a growing library of White Papers and other information resources tailored specifically to the needs of laboratory administrators, lab managers, pathologists, and lab industry consultants.
For additional information, Contact: Chris Garcia at 512-264-7103
About THE DARK REPORT
Established in 1995, THE DARK REPORT is the leading source of exclusive business intelligence for laboratory CEOs, COOs, CFOs, Pathologists and Senior industry executives. It is widely read by leaders in laboratory medicine and diagnostics. The Dark Report produces the famous Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management every spring, which showcases innovations by the nation’s and globe’s leading laboratory organizations. Dark Daily is an Internet-based e-briefing intelligence service, read worldwide by thought leaders in laboratory and pathology management. Other well-known conferences conducted by THE DARK REPORT are Lab Quality Confab (on the use of Lean and Six Sigma methods in labs and hospitals) and Molecular Summit (on the integration of in vivo and in vitro diagnostics). THE DARK REPORT co-produces Frontiers in Laboratory Medicine annually in the United Kingdom; Executive Edge bi-annually in Canada; and The Business of Pathology bi-annually in Australia.
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May 31, 2018 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Pathology, White Papers
Personalized and predictive medicine are rapidly becoming a reality. As a result, your clinical diagnostic laboratory’s need for a laboratory information management system (LIMS) designed to accommodate personalized medicine’s informatics integration and workflow challenges has become vital. The Dark Report is pleased to offer this FREE White Paper, providing a detailed discussion on how you can unlock the potential of next generation sequencing (NGS) technology in your lab, and the benefits and contributions it can make to add clinical value and improve patient care.
