Dec 5, 2012 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
To help improve the quality and accuracy of clinical pathology laboratory testing, many African nations are using ISO 15189 for laboratory accreditation
In many developing countries, both patients and medical laboratory professionals are making local headlines with their efforts to call attention the unacceptable number of errors made by clinical laboratories in their respective countries. This media scrutiny is a positive sign because problems must be recognized and acknowledged before they can be solved.
In recent weeks, Dark Daily published an ebriefing that described how pathologists and clinical laboratory professionals in Africa and the Caribbean were calling attention to unacceptably high rates of medical lab testing errors in their respective regions. (See Dark Daily: Public Outcry Over Inaccurate Medical Laboratory Test Results and Misdiagnoses Spurs Government Action in Developing Countries.)
The good news is that media reports about problems with medical laboratory testing quality in these developing countries have encouraged an organized international response. Medical laboratory professionals from developed nations are providing financing, equipment, onsite training and supervision specifically to raise the quality and accuracy of medical laboratory test results in many of these developing countries.
International collaborations aimed at building high-quality clinical laboratory services in developing countries are paying off. In some cases, this is directly related to the efforts of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and similar initiatives to improve the quality of clinical laboratory services in these resource-limited regions to support better disease detection and patient care. (more…)
Nov 8, 2012 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations
Speakers at Sixth Annual Lab Quality Confab told attendees that ACOs and integration of clinical care now make it important for medical laboratories to use Lean and QMS to deliver more value while substantially reducing costs
DATELINE: SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS—Here at the 6th annual Lab Quality Confab and Process Improvement Institute (LQC), an enthusiastic crowd of clinical laboratory industry “first movers” gathered to learn how leading medical laboratories, pathology groups, and hospitals are harnessing the power of process improvement to drive gains in quality, customer satisfaction, and financial performance.
Institute of Medicine Report RecommendsContinuous Learning
LQC’s founder and host, The Dark Report‘s (TDR) Editor-in-Chief, Robert Michel, opened the general session on day one with a look at a recent report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The report, titled “Best Care at Lower Cost: The Path to Continuously Learning Health Care in America”, has significant implications for healthcare providers. Including clinical laboratories. (more…)
Sep 20, 2012 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, News From Dark Daily
It may be a small number of 15189-accredited medical laboratories, but these are prominent lab organizations and their ranks are growing
One by one, a small number of innovative clinical laboratory organizations are taking steps to earn accreditation to either ISO 15189 or CAP 15189. This is a quiet trend and one that has yet to attract widespread notice across the world of medical laboratory and pathology testing.
It is a trend that touches clinical lab organizations of all sizes. For example, many lab executives may be surprised to learn that multibillion-dollar Laboratory Corporation of America (NYSE: LH) has five different clinical laboratory locations that have earned accreditation to CAP 15189. (more…)
Mar 16, 2012 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Expect more hospitals and health systems to consider adopting the QMS of ISO 9001
It is certainly a sign of changing times when The Joint Commission (JC) enters into an arrangement that will give critical access hospitals the option to pursue The Joint Commission accreditation in combination with certification to ISO 9001.
This is a significant development. It can be assumed that The Joint Commission recognizes the growing interest hospital administrators have in adopting the quality management system (QMS) that is embedded within ISO 9001. Hospital laboratories, clinical laboratories, and anatomic pathology laboratories can earn accreditation to ISO 15189 Medical Laboratories, which also incorporates the QMS embedded within ISO 9001.
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Nov 18, 2011 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
DATELINE: San Antonio, Texas—This week, a large and enthusiastic crowd of clinical laboratory managers and pathologists gathered here to participate in the fifth annual Lab Quality Confab, a conference devoted to Lean, Six Sigma, and process improvement in medical laboratories and hospitals.
It was an opportunity to judge the “state of the clinical laboratory testing industry” in regards to how quality management and the tools of Lean and continuous improvement are helping to transform the nation’s more innovative medical laboratory organizations. This is an important trend in laboratory medicine and it is still in its earliest stages.
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