News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

Hosted by Robert Michel

News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

Hosted by Robert Michel
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Several of Becker’s Top 2014 Health Information Technology ‘Game Changer’ Trends Have Major Implications for the Nation’s Clinical Pathology Laboratories

In particular, medical laboratories and pathology groups should be doing better at using information technology to meet the needs of consumers and to support physician workflow

Improving patient-provider communication and speeding clinician workflow are two of the top 2014 game changers in healthcare information technology (HIT) cited by a recent report. Each of these top 2014 game changers can be expected to change how patients and physicians interact with their clinical laboratory and anatomic pathology providers.

The report was published by Becker’s Hospital Review. Of the top 10 2014 HIT game changers, Dark Daily considered the two mentioned as the most notable for medical laboratory managers and pathologists. (more…)

Health Insurers Encourage Physicians to Help Patients Use Cost and Quality Data to Select Providers, Including Medical Laboratories

Employers and health insurers want more consumers use healthcare cost estimator tools and pride when choosing a hospital, physician, or clinical laboratory

Having put millions of consumers into high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) as one way to control healthcare costs, both employers and health insurers are now challenged to help these same consumers do better at using price and quality factors when selecting providers.

One solution to this problem is to encourage physicians to play a greater role in helping their patients use price and quality when it is time to select a provider. Obviously, these decisions can involve which clinical laboratory or anatomic pathology practice a patient should select when he or she needs medical laboratory testing.

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Consumer Demand for Convenient, Low-Cost Medical Care Moves Hospitals Into Retail Clinic Business

Hospitals Opening Retail Clinics to Capture Greater Market Share

Walk-in rapid medical clinics in retail stores are so popular with consumers that now hospitals want in on the action. Some of the nation’s most famous hospitals have inked agreements to put their brand on rapid clinics located inside many of the country’s largest retail and pharmacy chains.

Hospital-branded rapid clinics are inside 25 Wal-Mart stores nationally, according to a New York Times article. Additionally, Cleveland Clinic lent its brand to CVS drugstore clinics in northern Ohio, Mayo Clinic is operating Express Care clinics inside a supermarket and shopping mall in Rochester, Minnesota, and there are others. In fact, one in 10 retail clinics are now connected to a hospital, and more are planned, according to Merchant Medicine News, an online newsletter for the clinic industry.

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