Jan 13, 2012 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Expected wave of retirements from clinical laboratories might be deferred for several more years
Popular wisdom has been that, as they hit retirement age, baby boomers will leave the workforce in large numbers. Now a news report says that many baby boomers may defer retirement because of poor finances and too much debt. If true, that may be good news for clinical laboratories and pathology groups across the United States.
After all, baby boomers make up a considerable proportion of the laboratory workforce. Often with decades of experience at a single medical laboratory, they are highly-skilled and have extensive experience in laboratory operations and lab test interpretation. Thus, were the large majority of baby boomers to decide to retire as they reach 65 years of age, it could leave big gaps in staffing at many medical laboratory organizations throughout the country.
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Jul 18, 2011 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, News From Dark Daily
Recent federal court case and a columnist in the Weekly Standard illustrate how Boomers are ready to challenge existing Medicare laws they don’t like
Will the oldest Baby Boomers, now turning 65 years old this year, accept enrollment in the Medicare program or will they challenge it—as they have challenged many other institutions in American society over their lifetimes? News outlets are already reporting instances of Baby Boomers fighting to keep their existing private health insurance, for example.
If this is a trend that sets down deep roots, it can also trigger significant changes in the clinical laboratory testing marketplace. Were Baby Boomers to file lawsuits in federal courts that are settled in their favor, for example, it could pave the way for Boomers to retain private health insurance in lieu of enrollment in fee-for-service Medicare or the Medicare Advantage Plans.
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Apr 25, 2011 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, News From Dark Daily
American Society of Clinical Pathology study cites better pay and lack of skills as main barriers to recruiting MTs, CLSs, and MLTs
Staffing shortages of medical technologists (MT) continue to be a significant problem for clinical laboratories across America. Moreover, the vacancy rates of qualified clinical laboratory scientists required to properly staff medical laboratories are increasing. These findings were released recently by the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP).
At the management level, it was reported that recruiters are finding it particularly hard to fill supervisory positions in Histology Laboratories and Blood Banks. Further, experts predict that Chemistry, Immunology and Histology labs will suffer most over the next five years as Baby Boomers retire in ever-increasing numbers.
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Feb 28, 2011 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Gap between supply and demand for Medical Laboratory Technologists (MT) encourages greater use of laboratory automation
If there is a Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of pathologists and clinical laboratory managers, it is the largest workforce shortage in the history of the medical laboratory industry. For 2011 and beyond, demand for skilled medical technologists (MT) and clinical laboratory scientists (CLS) will far outstrip supply.
Today, many hospital and health system laboratories operate short-staffed. They are unable to recruit and retain even the number of staff positions that are authorized and budgeted. In cases where a thriving hospital laboratory outreach program is generating substantial annual increases in the volume of specimens to be tested, the medical laboratory’s inability to recruit the additional MTs and CLSs required to handle this work creates a high-stress environment for everyone in the laboratory organization.
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Oct 29, 2010 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Uncategorized
Trend may affect workforce needs of clinical pathology laboratories, according to JAMA study
Doctors now work fewer hours than lawyers! This finding has serious implications for the healthcare industry in coming years. Clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups will want to understand how this trend might affect their service relationships with physicians.
Researchers determined that—for the first time—doctors are working fewer hours than lawyers. They predict this trend could lead to doctor shortages as more and more baby boomer physicians retire. This study was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
In an interview with a U.S. News and World Report reporter, the study’s lead author, Douglas Staiger, Ph.D., Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire stated, “This is an unprecedented decline that we haven’t seen before in physicians, and you don’t see it for other professions, like lawyers.”
Three Decades of Census Data on Doctors’ Work Hours
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