As Accreditation Inspections of Clinical Laboratories Become Tougher, Innovative Labs Use Internal Audits and Continuous Quality Improvements to Help Prevent Deficiencies

Savvy medical laboratory managers conduct internal audits of processes involved in deficiency citations so they can uncover how deficiencies occur and help eliminate recurrences One trend that places clinical laboratories at risk involves increased regulation of lab processes, along with more thorough accreditation inspections. Compared to past years, both developments mean more ways for lab assessors to find greater numbers of deficiencies. However, leading laboratory accreditation and...

Medicare Clinical Laboratory Price Cuts and Cost-cutting Predicted to be 2018’s Two Biggest Trends for Medical Laboratories in the United States

To offset the loss of revenue from the price cuts to Medicare Part B clinical laboratory tests, labs will need to aggressively—but wisely—slash costs to balance their budgets Any day now, Medicare officials will announce the Medicare Part B Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS) for 2018. Both the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) have issued reports indicating that these fee cuts will total $400...

Lean-Six Sigma Medical Laboratories Begin to Innovate in Ways That Add Value to Physicians, Payers, and Patients

With record attendance of 300 Lean-Six Sigma experts, this week’s conference was a high-energy event that provided medical lab professionals and pathologists with case studies of how to improve lab operations and contribute to better patient care DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS—Yesterday was the conclusion of the 10th Annual Lab Quality Confab, which showcased innovators in clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups. Attendees traveled here from six different countries. One new trend that...

Clinical Pathology Laboratories Get a New CLIA Accreditation Choice as CMS Grants Deeming Status to A2LA

NEWS UPDATE: American Association of Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) is given four-year authority to accredit clinical laboratories to CLIA requirements for all specialty and subspecialty lab test areas There’s a new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-approved (CMS) accrediting organization for clinical laboratories. Medicare officials granted deeming status for Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) to the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA). The...

Clinical Laboratories in United States Show More Interest in ISO 15189 Accreditation

It may be a small number of 15189-accredited medical laboratories, but these are prominent lab organizations and their ranks are growing One by one, a small number of innovative clinical laboratory organizations are taking steps to earn accreditation to either ISO 15189 or CAP 15189. This is a quiet trend and one that has yet to attract widespread notice across the world of medical laboratory and pathology testing. It is a trend that touches clinical lab organizations of all sizes. For...
;