Oct 8, 2012 | Digital Pathology, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, News From Dark Daily
Fast-moving trends are reshaping how clinical laboratories and pathology groups use information technology to deliver more value to physicians and patients
In the field of medical laboratory informatics, there is an emerging trend of great importance to both clinical laboratories and pathology groups. It is becoming increasingly tougher for hospital labs to select a “best-of-breed” laboratory information system (LIS). That’s because more hospital administrators are opting for a single “enterprise-wide” informatics/EHR solution that commonly includes an LIS that is not the first choice of laboratory management.
“We are now at a very significant tipping point in the field of pathology informatics,” declared Bruce Friedman, M.D., Active Emeritus Professor of Pathology at the University of Michigan Medical School. “After more than three decades of stability and broad acceptance of best-of-breed LISs and close collaboration between LIS vendors and pathology professionals, the enterprise-wide-solution is emerging as a favorite of hospital CIOs and CEOs. (more…)
Jun 15, 2012 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Hospital’s purchase of an “enterprise-wide solution” to be the EMR and related ancillary system software often leaves the hospital lab without the full LIS functions found in best-of-breed LIS products
DATELINE—PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, Part II: Adoption of electronic medical record (EMR) systems by hospitals and health systems throughout this country may now be the single most disruptive factor in how hospital labs configure their laboratory information systems (LIS) specifically in support of their parent institutions’ informatics requirements.
This issue surfaced repeatedly during presentations made here on Friday, June 8, at the Strategic Summit organized by the Association for Pathology Informatics (API). In simplest terms, a growing number of hospital and health system administrators want to purchase and deploy a single “enterprise-wide solution” (EWS) for their EMR and total informatics needs. (more…)
Feb 24, 2012 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Annual list emphasizes innovations on how clinicians will store clinical data and access it in ways that advance patient care
Each year the Cleveland Clinic announces its choices for the “Top 10 Medical Innovations of the Year.” In its list for 2012, there are at least three top innovations which will involve and engage clinical laboratories and pathology groups.
In particular, two innovations are a change in how medical informatics, including medical laboratory test data will be archived, assessed, and accessed. Here are the Cleveland Clinic’s top 10 medical innovations for 2012:
(more…)
Aug 26, 2011 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, News From Dark Daily
Experts in pathology and clinical laboratory informatics to gather in October in Pittsburgh
One respected expert in pathology informatics says that a “major sea change” is underway in pathology informatics. The pace of this transformation is steady and pathology groups should be responsive to these developments.
These are the opinions of Bruce Friedman, M.D., Active Emeritus Professor of Pathology at the University of Michigan Medical School and President of the Pathology Education Consortium (PEC), in an exclusive interview with Dark Daily. He recommends that anatomic pathology laboratories need to step up and respond to remain competitive.
“Right now all of the action in the field revolves around digital pathology, stated Friedman. “Many new companies are entering the field, including system integrators. In earlier times, the emphasis was placed on slide scan times and the quality of images. Now there is much greater emphasis on end-to-end integration and workflow. (more…)
Feb 23, 2007 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
With both Siemens and General Electric placing big bets on in vitro diagnostics during the past nine months, there is much speculation about plans to integrate pathology with radiology. Bruce Friedman, M.D., plans to tackle this subject at his fourth annual Lab InfoTech Summit, scheduled to take place in Las Vegas on March 5-7 at the Venetian Casino Resort Hotel.
Dark Daily asked Dr. Friedman about his thoughts on what would be the most significant change in laboratory information technology in the coming years. “The trend of merging and convergence of the clinical pathology laboratory with radiology is creating a lot of interest,” replied Friedman, “I will be speaking about it at the conference, along with a few other speakers touching on the idea.” Friedman has blogged about The Convergence of Pathology/Lab Medicine with Radiology in his LabSoftNews Blog on multiple occasions and believes it is the next necessary step in laboratory information technology.
Friedman is recognized as one of the leading authorities on clinical laboratory and anatomic pathology informatics. His Lab InfoTech Summit is designed for all clinical laboratory professionals, including pathologists, medical technologists, lab information system mangers, and lab business managers.
To complement the speakers making three days of presentations about important topics in laboratory information management solutions, the conference features two pre-conference workshops. One is titled “Assessing and Improving the Value of Lab Services” and the other is titled “Rules in the Clinical Laboratory: Design, Validation, and Process.” The use of rules in the clinical labs seems to be taking hold for functions such as autoverification of test results because this allows medical technologists to attend to higher level tasks than validating outgoing test results. Both these workshops are intended for lab professionals who want to actively participate in discussion about these topics. They will feature lecture, discussion, Q&A sessions, and networking opportunities.
Friedman went on to say that the Summit “will feature 43 exhibitors of lab software and allied products and more than 200 paid registrants. It is the largest specialized exhibition of its type in the US and is growing rapidly each year.” The Summit provides an excellent opportunity for laboratory professionals assess, compare, and contrast multiple laboratory software solutions. Conference attendees will be able to meet with multiple vendors, face-to-face, in one, convenient location.
The 2007 Lab InfoTech Summit will enable laboratory professionals to immerse themselves in the latest trends in laboratory information management for days. Don’t let this opportunity for learning and networking pass you by!
