Mar 11, 2016 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Reviewing medical laboratory test results online is a popular resource among consumers, says a different study by Kaiser Permanente
More than half of patients and consumers have trouble understanding their health information, along with the steps needed to further improve their health, according to a recent study conducted by HealthMine. This gap in consumer understanding represents a great opportunity for clinical laboratories and pathology groups that want to forge stronger bonds with patients and consumers.
In its survey of more than 7,200 healthcare consumers about their health knowledge, HealthMine determined that about 52% of consumers find it difficult to understand their health information and/or what is required of them to maintain or improve their health.
Knowledge of one’s health, or the health of a loved one, is critical to the management of chronic diseases and other health conditions. In this Internet age of patient portals and mobile health devices, the assumption is that most folks would be comfortable using the new technologies. Apparently, this is not the case. At least not among those HealthMine polled. (more…)
Jan 19, 2015 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
If validated in clinical trials, this novel technology has the potential to shift some glucose testing from the clinical laboratory by offering diabetics a convenient, painless blood sugar test
Glucose testing is both a headache and an opportunity for clinical laboratories here in the United States and across the globe. It is a headache because many point-of-care and patient self-test glucose devices in wide use today lack the reliability of glucose testing performed in medical laboratories that use sophisticated diagnostic instruments.
It is an opportunity because, here in the United States and across the globe, there are tens of millions of type 2 diabetics and hundreds of millions of pre-diabetics. Health systems have an unmet demand for glucose testing that is non-invasive, accurate, can be done in patient care settings, and is cheap.
Recently, researchers at Princeton University announced development of noninvasive, in vivo glucose sensor technology that uses a broad-spectrum band of infrared (IR) light to accurately measure blood sugar.
The clinical market for such a device is huge. Just in the United States, there are more than 30 million diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and more than 70 million pre-diabetics. Researchers have been working for some time to develop a patient-friendly glucose-monitoring technology that does not require a needle stick or venipuncture. (more…)
