Apr 25, 2011 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, News From Dark Daily
American Society of Clinical Pathology study cites better pay and lack of skills as main barriers to recruiting MTs, CLSs, and MLTs
Staffing shortages of medical technologists (MT) continue to be a significant problem for clinical laboratories across America. Moreover, the vacancy rates of qualified clinical laboratory scientists required to properly staff medical laboratories are increasing. These findings were released recently by the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP).
At the management level, it was reported that recruiters are finding it particularly hard to fill supervisory positions in Histology Laboratories and Blood Banks. Further, experts predict that Chemistry, Immunology and Histology labs will suffer most over the next five years as Baby Boomers retire in ever-increasing numbers.
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Apr 19, 2011 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
As automation transforms the manual work processes in the histopathology laboratory, “floaters” may become a thing of the past
Any histotechnologist and pathologist familiar with the manual work processes commonly in use in histopathology laboratories knows about “floaters.” These are the pesky artifacts that are a consequence of the common practice of manually processing tissue through the series of H&E linear baths required for the proper staining of these samples prior to analysis by anatomic pathologists.
“Floaters” are a relevant example of why manual work processes in the histopathology laboratory can be the source of errors and mistakes. Certain types of floaters—including floaters consisting of malignant tissue fragments—have the potential to contaminate the patient specimen. This can negatively impact patient safety and even contribute to a misdiagnosis of the patient. Moreover, the issue of floaters has been around for decades, because the manual work processes involving the H&E (hematoxylin and eosin stain) linear baths have remained relatively unchanged during this time.
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Oct 18, 2010 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Dark Daily gets tour of clinical lab and anatomic pathology activities
DATELINE: Omaha, Nebraska—This city may be in America’s heartland and best-known for corn-fed beef and billionaire-investor Warren Buffet, but its premier academic center clinical pathology laboratory is breaking new ground in several important ways.
Last Thursday, your Dark Daily editor was hosted for a site visit by the Department of Pathology and Microbiology at the University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO). From adoption of digital pathology solutions to assertive use of Lean and Six Sigma techniques across the span of clinical laboratory and histology laboratory operations, advanced use of latest-generation medical laboratory testing technology was on display.
Using Lean and Value Process Maps in the Clinical Laboratory
Across the United States, every academic center Department of Pathology has activities and goals which distinguish it in specific ways when compared to other pathology departments. During this site visit, Dark Daily recognized three distinct laboratory management activities taking place in the clinical pathology laboratory at the 525-bed University of Nebraska Medical Center laboratory.
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Aug 24, 2010 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Hefty purchase price sends message to pathologists and clinical laboratory executives
For any pathologist still harboring doubts about the future of digital pathology, yesterday’s surprise news that Roche Holding AG (VTX:ROG.VX) will pay $100 million to acquire BioImagene, Inc., provides compelling evidence that the digital pathology marketplace is ready for prime time.
Roche announced that it will pay $100 million to buy privately-held BioImagene of Sunnyvale, California. The purchase will be handled by Roche’s Ventana Medical Systems, Inc., and the deal is expected to close in just a few weeks. After the acquisition, BioImagene will operate as part of Ventana. BioImagene has emerged as one of the early leaders in selling digital scanners and digital pathology systems.
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Dec 8, 2009 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Top labs are leveraging Lean Six Sigma to Boost Performance and Profits
Clinical laboratories and pathology groups using Lean Six Sigma methods are blowing right past the dismal economy and posting strong improvements in operations and financial performance. In fact, at their most innovative, these laboratories are developing new global “best practices” in how they use Lean and Six Sigma.
Both Stegall and Sprick will share the hottest developments in how labs are benefiting from Lean Six Sigma.
“Laboratory professionals will be surprised at how fast Lean Six Sigma methods are transforming three areas of the lab,” stated Susan Stegall, Managing Partner at Sprick, Stegall and Associates, a laboratory management consulting firm based in Charlotte, North Carolina. “We see signs that the most proficient of these laboratories are performing at a ‘best practices’ level.
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