NIH Awards $48.6 Million in Grants to Advance Putting Genomic Information in Electronic Health Records of Patients

Goal is to enable gene sequencing data to reside in EMRs, which would provide pathologists and clinical lab professionals with an opportunity to add value More federal grant money is available to speed up research designed to make it possible to incorporate genome information into the electronic medical record (EMR). This is a development that can have both positive and negative consequences for clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is...

Mayo Clinic Researchers Determine That Use of High Definition Optical Technology Enables Physicians to Identify Precancerous Polyps Immediately

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....

Unexpected Discovery of Source of Lethal, Antibiotic-Resistant Strain of E. Coli Could Lead to New Medical Laboratory Tests and Preventative Treatment

Research breakthrough heralded as key insight that can lead to more accurate clinical laboratory tests and more effective antibiotics for treating E. Coli infections Antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria are one of healthcare’s biggest threats to patient safety and improved patient outcomes. Now advanced gene sequencing has given researchers a startling new understanding of how Escherichia coli (E. coli) has developed resistance to antibiotics. This discovery may have a major impact on...

Group Health Cooperative Study Uses EHRs and Stepped Interventions to Double Rate of Colorectal Cancer Screenings

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)...
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