Oct 6, 2014 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
The challenge facing medical lab managers and pathologists is to intelligently cut costs in their labs without laying off med techs, histotechs, and other lab scientists
By any measure, this year’s budget season is a tough one for the nation’s clinical laboratories and pathology groups. Most labs are scrambling to adjust to reduced reimbursement and directives from their parent hospitals and health systems to shrink their lab budgets for 2015.
It’s why smart cost-cutting tops the list of challenges at all medical laboratory managers and pathologists. Lab leaders need effective approaches to trim spending in their lab without the need to lay off skilled medical technologists and other experienced lab scientists. (more…)
Dec 12, 2011 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Studies show clinical laboratories still grapple with sub-optimal specimens from emergency departments and better phlebotomy skills are part of the solution
Improving the quality of medical laboratory specimens collected by the staff of emergency departments is an ongoing goal at most American hospitals. Now everyone associated with phlebotomy will be interested in a study released in the United Kingdom (UK) that recommends that emergency department doctors in that country would benefit from a refresher course on correct specimen collection technique.
Clinical laboratory managers and phlebotomists in most developed nations are well acquainted with the problem of faulty specimens sent from the emergency department. That is the problem highlighted by this UK study. (more…)
Jul 11, 2011 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Scholarship program for aspiring clinical laboratory managers helps them sharpen their skills
Over in Africa, one of Uganda’s main clinical laboratory organizations is about to go “Lean.” Credit for that development goes to one intrepid medical laboratory leader and his trip across the Atlantic to participate at the Executive War College on Lab and Pathology (EWC) that took place in New Orleans last May.
Faithful readers of Dark Daily will remember Ali Elbireer, MT (ASC). He was this year’s winner of a unique clinical laboratory education scholarship that is awarded annually by The Dark Report and Medical Laboratory Observer. This scholarship is designed to advance the medical laboratory management skills and careers of the clinical laboratory industry’s most promising “up and comers.” (See Dark Daily, “ Teaching the Next Generation of Clinical Pathology Laboratory Managers, April 11, 2011“.)
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Jan 21, 2011 | Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
New Load-and-Walk-Away Systems Promise Rapid Turnaround Times and Multi-Target Testing
Laboratory Automation is one important reason why more community hospital laboratories and local pathology groups can now perform a growing menu of molecular diagnostic tests. Rapid innovations in automation technology now make it possible for even low-volume medical laboratories to perform molecular testing using highly-automated “load and walk away” molecular analyzers.
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers may be surprised to learn that the market for these simple-to-use automated analyzers is actually becoming crowded. There are at least five companies that now make bench top automated nucleic acid testing systems. These systems are designed to enable medium and low volume labs to compete in the nucleic acid testing arena. It is one reason why the number of community hospital laboratories and local anatomic pathology group practices are establishing molecular testing programs.
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