University of Maryland Study Determines Nearly 50% of All Healthcare in America is Delivered in Emergency Departments, Validating What Hospital Medical Laboratories Have Long Known

Meanwhile, some insurance payers are dropping coverage for certain medical treatments they consider “unnecessary,” leaving hospitals and their medical laboratories to wonder if they will be reimbursed for the tests they perform Hospital-based medical laboratories and anatomic pathologists are well aware that the emergency department (ED) in their hospital is their single largest customer and that reporting test results within required turn-around times (TATs) is a non-stop battle. Thus, it...

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia Drops Coverage for Non-Emergency ER Visits; Medical Laboratories Could See Drop in ER Clinical Lab Test Orders

Experts concerned people will be unable to judge a true emergency from a minor health concern; patients could be left with a big ER bill if they are wrong Here’s a groundbreaking way payers are keeping healthcare costs down: Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) of Georgia sent letters to its members in May informing them that they will no longer be reimbursed by the insurer for “non-emergency” related services obtained in emergency rooms (ERs). Pathology groups and medical laboratory...

‘Nighthawk’ Radiology Services Expand to Hospital Pharmacies: Could Pathology Laboratories Be Next?

Use of telemedicine services in radiology and pharmacy may hold down labor costs and expand services for patients, but expanded use of telemedicine could also disrupt other local medical subspecialty providers, including pathologists Over the past 15 years, pathologists have watched how radiology has been disrupted by the “nighthawk” model of remote teleradiology services. Now, the nighthawk approach to telepharmacy could disrupt pharmacy as well. As this happens, pathologists may be wondering...

Medical Scribes Move Outside the ER to Help Clinicians in Other Healthcare Settings Make the Switch From Paper Charts to EHRs

Scribe-assisted physicians say their productivity is back to normal after plummeting with connection to an EHR and have time to spare One unintended consequence of the federal program to encourage hospitals and physicians to adopt and use electronic health record (EHRS) systems is the creation of a new category of healthcare worker. Today, a growing number of hospitals and medical groups are hiring medical scribes. Medical scribes are trained individuals who document physician-patient...
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