Congress Holds Off on Enabling FDA Regulation of Clinical Laboratory-Developed Tests

Feb 27, 2023 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Resources, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, Laboratory Testing

Supporters of the VALID Act say lobbying blitz by academic medical centers prevented its passage In 2022, a bill before Congress titled the Verifying Accurate Leading-Edge IVCT Development Act (VALID Act) sought to change the current regulatory scheme for clinical laboratory-developed tests (LDTs) and in vitro clinical tests (IVCTs). But even though the College of American Pathologists (CAP) and nine other organizations signed a December 12 stakeholder letter to leaders of key House and Senate...

Hospital Associations and Healthcare Groups Battle HHS Efforts to Expand Pricing Transparency Rules to Include Negotiated Rates with Payers

Jan 29, 2020 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology

In a federal lawsuit, seven healthcare organizations and hospitals systems allege HHS exceeded its statutory authority and clinical laboratories will want to watch how this court case unfolds There is quite a brouhaha over the final new federal rule requiring hospitals to allow patients and the public to see the prices they charge for services—including clinical laboratory and anatomic pathology prices. Some very influential hospital associations and healthcare systems are opposing...

Vermont Medical School Ceases All Lectures from Curriculum and Adopts “Active Learning” Techniques for Teaching Next Generation of Physicians

Dec 1, 2017 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Management & Operations, News From Dark Daily

Professor-led classroom lectures end as students are expected to do much of their traditional learning outside of class. Will this influence how many medical students go on to choose pathology for their residency? Medical Colleges, hospital universities, and healthcare trade schools nationwide are considering “Active Learning” techniques to replace lectures. These bastions of higher education—where anatomic pathologists, medical laboratory scientists, doctors, nurses, clinical laboratory...

Concierge Medicine Increases in Popularity as More Consumers Opt for This Care Model; Will Clinical Laboratories Exploit This Business Opportunity?

May 6, 2016 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing

Patients using a concierge medicine practice expect to pay cash at the time of service, but few medical laboratories are equipped to collect from patients at time of service One big challenge for clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups is how to adapt to the changing role of the consumer in healthcare. It a major goal of healthcare policymakers to have patients pay more out of pocket for clinical care so as to motivate them to select hospitals, physicians, and clinical labs based...

Medicare Officials Raise Issue of Fraud as Greater Use of Electronic Health Records Increases the Number of Claims Upcoded to More Complex CPT Codes

Feb 22, 2013 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Uncategorized

Issue does not directly affect clinical laboratories and pathology groups, but puts spotlight on some hospitals and physicians who frequently use these codes. Could increased use of electronic health records (EHR) systems be causing more hospitals and physicians to commit fraud because of upcoding? That’s the assertion of certain federal health officials. They attribute the increased proportion of Medicare claims for more complex and more expensive services by some providers to be, in some...