Jan 18, 2013 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
In the future, pathologists and clinical laboratory administrators may need to plan for a canine addition to their traditional laboratory staff
See Cliff sniff C. diff! No, that’s not a line from a new reading primer. In fact, it refers to one hospital’s innovation for early detection of Clostridium difficile (C. diff): a two-year-old beagle named Cliff. Cliff the Beagle is faster at detecting certain infections than the standard clinical laboratory tests used daily in hospitals throughout the world.
Researchers from Vrije University Medical Center (VUMC) in Amsterdam successfully used the trained beagle to detect the smell of C. difficile in hospitals. The researchers believe trained canine disease detectives like Cliff could be a cheap and effective way to conduct routine C. diff screening in hospitals. (more…)
Oct 23, 2012 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
CRM is a new product category for medical laboratory middleware and delivers real-time dashboards that drive higher levels of lab performance and client service
Within the clinical laboratory industry, there’s an interesting conjunction of two fast-moving trends. One trend is the growing use of middleware by medical laboratories of all sizes. The second trend is the goal of converting any type of manual work process in the lab into an automated work process.
These trends often intersect when clinical laboratories and pathology groups use middleware to automate manual processes. One common example is when a lab purchases a middleware solution that handles auto-validation. After implementation, auto-validation eliminates the need for medical technologists to manually review all the individual test results. (more…)
Jun 6, 2011 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Clinical pathology laboratory testing played a role in reducing rate of ICU infections
Here’s a big win for improved patient outcomes, and clinical labs and pathologists played a significant role in this achievement. Central line-associated blood stream infections (CLABSI) in ICUs decreased in number by a whopping 58% from 2001 to 2009, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Some healthcare experts attribute this significant reduction in ICU infections to greater transparency in outcomes data. The CDC’s report, released on March 1, 2011, covered the period from 2001 through 2009. The CDC said that, in 2001, 43,000 ICU patients experienced what today is called a hospital acquired infection (HAI). But by 2009, that number had dropped to 18,000!
The CDC calculates that, thanks to hospital diligence and participation in programs designed to reduce HAIs, at least $1.8 billion and 27,000 lives were saved between 2001 and 2009. However, the CDC noted that other areas of healthcare did not show similar improvements in patient outcomes. (more…)
May 13, 2011 | Laboratory Pathology, News From Dark Daily
American Hospital Association claims accuracy of posted HAC data not established
In further step to create transparency in patient outcomes delivered by individual hospitals, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) has posted on its website information on eight hospital-acquired conditions (HAC). However, many hospital industry leaders were not happy with this action.
The CMS data is specific to individual healthcare facilities that treat Medicare patients. It includes info on two types of hospital-acquired infections (HAI), blood compatibility, and air embolisms. Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers will recognize that medical laboratory testing plays an important role in diagnosing and monitoring several of these conditions.
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Mar 2, 2011 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Pathology
Although designed for use by consumers, pathologists and clinical laboratory managers can use it too
Tally up the State of Washington as the latest to implement a program to bring greater transparency to patient outcomes produced by different hospitals. In recent months, the rates of healthcare associated infections (HAI) in Washington State hospitals became available on the Internet for public viewing.
Just like patients shopping for a hospital that meets their needs, pathologists and clinical laboratory managers can visit this website and compare the HAI rates for different hospitals in the state. Washington State launched this initiative in conformance with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).
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