Salary Rates for Travel Nurses Remain Strikingly High, Spurring States to Lobby Against Alleged Price Gouging by Staffing Agencies

Apr 14, 2023 | Clinical Laboratory/Pathology Management Recruiters & Staffing Resources, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory News, Laboratory Resources

Proposed regulation to limit rate increases during health crises gets pushback from staffing agencies and travel nurses who disagree with salary restrictions Hospitals across the nation are seeking relief from skyrocketing costs due to increased demand for temporary workers—especially travel nurses. This has led organizations like the American Hospital Association (AHA) to step in and call for legislators to cap spiking salary rates. Many clinical laboratories report similar increases in...

Italian Scientists Train Dogs to Detect Presence or Absence of COVID-19 in Humans with Remarkable Accuracy

Mar 31, 2023 | International Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Molecular Diagnostics, Genetic Testing, Whole Gene Sequencing

Dogs’ acute sense of smell can even surpass effectiveness of some clinical laboratory testing in detecting certain diseases in humans When it comes to COVID-19 testing, a recent Italian study demonstrates that trained dogs can detect SARS-CoV-2 with accuracy comparable to rapid molecular tests used in clinical laboratories. The researchers wanted to determine if dogs could be more effective at screening people for COVID-19 at airports, schools, and other high-traffic environments as a way to...

Walgreens Continues Expansion into Primary Care as VillageMD Acquires Starling Physicians Group with 30 Locations in Connecticut

Mar 27, 2023 | Lab and Pathology Mergers, Acquisitions, Valuations, Laboratory Mergers and Acquisitions, Laboratory News, Laboratory Testing, Precision Medicine

Expect there to be more clinical laboratory testing at pharmacies as retail pharmacy chains expand their primary care offerings Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) of Deerfield, Illinois, continues to expand its primary care footprint with VillageMD’s latest acquisition of Starling Physicians, a multi-specialty physicians group with 30 locations in Connecticut, according to a VillageMD news release. Walgreens is the majority owner of VillageMD, which now has more than 700 medical centers,...

Oregon Health and Science University Announces Program to Provide Patients with Hospital-Level Care in the Comfort of Their Home

Nov 16, 2022 | Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Resources, Laboratory Testing

As the number of Hospital at Home programs increase, clinical laboratories will want to develop programs for collecting samples from patients where they live Shortages of nurses and hospital staff, combined with pressure to lower the cost of care, are encouraging more institutions to implement hospital-in-the-home programs. One such project involves Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), which last November began a Hospital at Home (HaH) program that enables certain patients to receive...

Four Regulatory Developments Coming This Fall That Are Relevant for Clinical Laboratory Leaders and Pathology Group Managers

Oct 31, 2022 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Molecular Diagnostics, Genetic Testing, Whole Gene Sequencing

Regulators and lawmakers are considering proposed changes to CLIA and PAMA involving medical laboratory services Clinical laboratories and pathology groups should monitor a series of federal regulatory developments underway this fall. The proposals and documents will potentially affect how lab managers and staff do their jobs and how much Medicare reimbursement medical laboratories receive for certain diagnostic tests next year. Among the initiatives under consideration are the following:...