Feb 24, 2009 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
February 24, 2009
Are you curious about how molecular imaging and molecular diagnostics are being integrated into a single clinical service? If so, you may want to go to the Siemens Corporation Web site. On the home page, it prominently features video of events at the Molecular Summit on the Integration of In Vivo and In Vitro Diagnostics, conducted in Philadelphia earlier this month!
Throughout the two-day Molecular Summit event, Siemens conducted video interviews with selected speakers. These interviews, and video of selected presentations, are easily accessible on the Siemens Web site. In fact, you can even see a video interview with Dark Daily Editor Robert Michel, who produces the Molecular Summit each year! Just hit the link with his picture .
Siemens’ interest in the Molecular Summit is directly linked to one of its primary global strategies. In recent years, Siemens placed a $14 billion bet on the integration of molecular imaging and molecular diagnostics by acquiring, in order, Diagnostic Products Corporation (DPC), Bayer Diagnostics, and Dade Behring Corporation. By 2007, Siemens had become the world’s second largest in vitro diagnostics (IVD) manufacturer, as well as the world’s largest integrated diagnostics company.
Pathologists and laboratory managers will want to pay closer attention to how radiology and pathology are evolving toward a single clinical service. This is a trend which is in its infancy. It won’t be disruptive in the short term. On the other hand, presentations at Molecular Summit by radiologists and pathologists who have begun to collaborate on an integrated clinical diagnostic service reveal that such efforts easily generate additional value to clinicians and improve outcomes for patients. Two examples of in vivo and in vitro integration can by found at the University of Kansas and at UCLA Medical Center. Pathologists and radiologists from both sites made presentations on their collaborative diagnostic services at the Molecular Summit.
Of course, the glue that will increasingly bind radiologists and pathologists together is personalized medicine. Molecular Summit speakers ranging from George Poste, DVM, PhD, to Mara Aspinall, PhD, told attendees that personalized medicine is no longer a concept, but is an active and expanding influence in healthcare today. Personalized medicine requires pathologists and radiologists to adopt molecular technologies and to evaluate disease processes at a cellular level, increasingly in a multiplex, multi-modality process.
The second annual Molecular Summit, produced by The Dark Report, was conducted in Philadelphia on February 10-11, 2009. An enthusiastic audience of almost 200 pathologists, radiologists, and other experts focused on this new vision for molecular imaging and molecular diagnostics. For two years, Siemens has been a corporate benefactor of Molecular Summit.
Dark Daily invites subscribers and readers to share their experiences at integrating imaging and molecular pathology. Planning for Molecular Summit 2010 is already under way and this is an opportunity for you to present your case study of in vivo/in vitro integration at next year’s event. Contact Editor Robert L. Michel at rmichel@darkreport.com.
Related Information:
Mar 6, 2007 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
During the past 12 months, Siemens and General Electric each invested several billion dollars to acquire in vitro diagnostic (IVD) companies. Snatched up by Siemens were Diagnostic Products Corp. and Bayer Diagnostics. General Electric has signed an agreement to purchase Abbott Laboratories Diagnostics in a deal expected to close within the next month.
By acquiring major IVD companies, both Siemens and General Electric have sent an unmistakable message. It is their expectation that the future of diagnostic medicine lies in the effective integration of imaging and in vitro diagnostics. Since both radiology and laboratory medicine generate scads of data, in recent years each company has acquired a vendor selling laboratory information systems (LIS). In the case of Siemens, it was Shared Medical Systems (SMS). General Electric acquired Triple G Systems. Further, both companies own EMR (electronic medical record) systems designed for use by office-based physicians.
Dark Daily believes it is not a coincidence that Siemens and General Electric are building almost identical capabilities to offer services that include imaging, IVD, software to handle data from imaging and laboratory testing, along with EMR and practice management software for office-based physicians. In classic economics, this is a strategy of horizontal integration. Wikipedia describes horizontal integration as “a strategy used by a business or corporation that seeks to sell a type of product in numerous markets.”
By that definition, Siemens and General Electric are building the components needed to provide diagnostic services to all segments of the healthcare market. Their goal is to integrate in vivo and in vitro diagnostics. They are assembling products that will be used by radiologists and pathologists to evaluate the patient and provide a diagnosis. This information will then be made available to referring clinicians and other relevant parts of the healthcare system.
So far, both Siemens and General Electric have offered few details about how their vision of integrated diagnostics will alter laboratory medicine as we know it today. That will change on Friday, May 10, 2007. On that day, Dave Hickey, Vice President of Strategic Marketing and Planning for Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics, will make a major speech at the Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management. He will discuss “Full Service Diagnostics: The Coming Convergence of Imaging, Informatics, and In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD).”
Lab directors and pathologists have an opportunity to be first to learn why and how Siemens intends to integrate imaging, in vitro diagnostics, and healthcare informatics to provide clinicians with a full diagnostic report. Dark Daily considers it of particular interest that Siemens has talked about integrating these technologies in such a way as to allow physicians to diagnose disease when the patient is pre-symptomatic.
And if diagnosing patients who are pre-symptomatic isn’t radical enough, think about the implications of integrating radiology services with anatomic pathology! Traditionally, these are two medical specialties which have carefully guarded their scope of practice. Now two of healthcare’s largest companies are both committing billions of dollars to foster integration of radiology and pathology. These are reasons why Dave Hickey’s presentation at the upcoming Executive War College will provide useful insight and help guide strategic planning at pathology groups across the country.
You can get more details about Dave Hickey, his presentation, and the full Executive War College program at http://www.executivewarcollege.com. Make your plans now to see and hear Dave Hickey discuss how Siemens intends to integrate radiology and laboratory testing so you can prepare your laboratory for upcoming changes.
PS: To get the latest news and effective strategies dealing with new trends, join us in Miami on May 10-11, 2007 for the 12th Annual Executive War College. You can access the full details using the links below. Take action today to reserve your place.
Early-Bird Discount Registration now available online
Visit http://www.executivewarcollege.com
Download Full Program Agenda
You can:
1. Register ONLINE right now; or,
2. Call 800-560-6363. Our friendly staff can register you quickly and easily, as well as answer any questions you may have.
