Mar 22, 2010 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, News From Dark Daily
Some clinical labs use new pathology lab test technologies to deliver added value to physicians, patients, and payers
Clinical pathology laboratories in the United States and other developed countries across the globe face an unprecedented double-whammy. On one hand, the ongoing explosion of genetic and molecular knowledge gives pathologists and clinical laboratories incredible new tools for diagnosing disease and guiding therapy.
On the other hand, funding for government health programs in the United States and other developed countries is failing to keep pace with demand for health services and the need to pay for all the sophisticated molecular diagnostics and complex therapies now coming to market.
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Dec 16, 2009 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Acquisition is a deal between two private equity firms
Spectrum Laboratory Network of Greensboro, North Carolina, will be acquired by Welsh, Carson, Anderson, & Stowe. Investment funds managed by Apax Partners are the sellers and the purchase price is $230 million. It is the highest dollar value acquisition of a clinical laboratory during 2009.
The acquisition agreement was announced at the end of last week. It brings Welsh, Carson back into the laboratory testing industry for the first time since 2007. During this decade, Welsh, Carson held an equity ownership in LabOne, Inc., which was based in Kansas City, Missouri and was building a fast-growing business in medical laboratory testing.
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Dec 11, 2009 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Noted Humorist Garrison Keillor Encounters the Truth of Inadequate Funding for Clinical Laboratory Testing Services
It is widely recognized by pathologists and clinical laboratory managers in the United States and abroad that medical laboratory testing is a “high touch” clinical service. Each day, lots of patients interact with laboratory professionals to provide specimens. Physicians know that their own successful medical practice is dependent on a smooth-functioning and high-quality pathology testing service that delivers accurate, reliable lab test results.
Another truth in today’s healthcare system is selective underfunding of certain clinical laboratory testing services in the United States. In this country, pathologists and clinical lab managers are all too familiar with this situation. What might be at the top of the list of inadequately-reimbursed laboratory procedures is venipuncture. It has been years since Medicare, Medicaid, and private payers have reimbursed the venipuncture procedure at a level that is close to the cost of providing that service to patients.
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Dec 7, 2009 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Canadian scientist steals specimens, caught by U.S. Customs agent at the border
Laboratories are invariably out of the public eye—until there is a problem. In Canada, The Canadian Press reported earlier this year that audits had uncovered serious flaws in the tracking and accountability of dangerous pathogen specimens at federal laboratories. In response, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) called for increased security measures governing bio-safety at government laboratories.
These problems were identified at the nation’s National Microbiology Laboratory, located in Winnipeg. Earlier in the year, this lab played the lead role in testing swine flu (Novel A/H1N1) samples and mapped the progression of this flu strain from Mexico to Canada. Other labs visited and found lacking in full protection of pathogen specimens included the Laboratory for Foodborne Zoonoses in Guelph, Ontario, and federal satellite labs in Alberta and Quebec.
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Nov 23, 2009 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
News Reports Estimate as many as 25 Million Americans Would STILL Lack Coverage
With its vote on Saturday, the United States Senate advanced its version of a healthcare reform bill one step further. Now, in both the House and Senate, full floor debate will begin on the different healthcare reform bills that have reached the floor in each body.
Looming in the background, however, is the failure of each of these 2,000-page proposed bills to extend universal coverage to all residents of the United States. This is notable fact, since, over the course of 2009, advocates of an immediate legislative overhaul of the healthcare system in the United States declared their goal was to extend health coverage to all of the estimated 46 million Americans who currently lack health coverage.
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