Jun 3, 2015 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Authors of the published study wrote that use of HD optical technology during colonoscopies gives patients a faster answer and may eliminate the need to refer biopsies to pathologists
High definition optical technology is reaching the point where gastroenterologists are able to identify pre-cancerous polyps with 96% accuracy during colonoscopies, according to a recent study conducted at the Mayo Clinic. Pathologists will want to pay close attention to the published findings of this study. That’s because GI biopsies represent a significant proportion of specimens referred to anatomic pathologists.
Researchers at Mayo Clinic worked with high-definition (HD) imaging systems, such as the Olympus Evis Exera II 180 and the Evis Exera III CV-190. The study was published in the June 24, 2014 issue of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. (more…)
Oct 11, 2013 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Predictions are that more disease-prevention programs will be developed, creating the opportunity for laboratories to be more proactive in helping clinicians keep patients well
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers take note! The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is accumulating a growing body of evidence that its community-based diabetes prevention program is effective at improving the health of participating patients.
These auspicious findings may encourage a steep increase in the number and type of disease-prevention programs. In turn, greater deployment of such programs could further accelerate healthcare’s shift away from a reactive treatment of disease model to a proactive disease prevention model of care.
Such developments would be favorable for medical laboratories and pathology groups. As physicians pay more attention to diagnosing disease at earlier stages, they will want to tap the expertise of pathologists, Ph.D.s, and laboratory scientists. (more…)
May 13, 2013 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers may find new opportunities to increase testing volumes as patients’electronic health records yield clinically relevant data
Sophisticated use of electronic health records (EHRs), automated reminder systems, and telephone follow-up can double cancer-screening compliance by consumers. That could mean an increase in testing volumes for clinical laboratories serving clinics using this approach.
Researchers at the Group Health Research Institute (GHRI) used electronic health records to identify Group Health Cooperative (GHC) patients who weren’t screened regularly for cancer of the colon and rectum.
Because of how EHRs were used to step-up patient compliance for cancer screening, the study findings may be useful for pathologists and clinical laboratory managers. Over the years, many medical laboratories have furnished referring physicians a list of their patients who are due for screening tests, such as for cervical cancer. (more…)
Jul 23, 2012 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Uncategorized
New database of diabetes patients opens door for pathologists to improve existing medical laboratory testing algorithms
Integration of healthcare informatics is proceeding at a brisk pace. The latest evidence comes from 11 highly-respected integrated health systems that are pooling data to create the largest, most comprehensive private-sector diabetes registry in the country. It will contain information from 1.1 million diabetic patients.
For clinical laboratory managers and pathologists, this “super diabetes database” demonstrates that many multi-hospital health systems are now willing to pool patient data to make it easier to identify clinical trends. This data will also be used to develop more sophisticated evidence-based medicine (EBM) guidelines—many of which will involve better utilization of medical laboratory tests.
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