Oct 15, 2012 | Uncategorized
Pathologists and medical lab managers can study radiology’s adoption of digital images for useful lessons, says one innovative radiologist
DATELINE: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS—During Pathology Informatics 2012, a record crowd gathered last week to explore how new technologies are reshaping both clinical laboratory informatics and anatomic pathology informatics. If there was clear consensus on any single point, it was that every medical laboratory needs a very robust informatics platform to serve the new integrated care models, including accountable care organizations and medical homes.
This will be particularly true for pathology groups because of the growing acceptance of whole slide images and digital pathology systems used to capture those images and make them available to pathologists. On that count, one speaker at Pathology Informatics 2012 had a powerful message that was well received by all in attendance. (more…)
Oct 8, 2012 | Digital Pathology, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, News From Dark Daily
Fast-moving trends are reshaping how clinical laboratories and pathology groups use information technology to deliver more value to physicians and patients
In the field of medical laboratory informatics, there is an emerging trend of great importance to both clinical laboratories and pathology groups. It is becoming increasingly tougher for hospital labs to select a “best-of-breed” laboratory information system (LIS). That’s because more hospital administrators are opting for a single “enterprise-wide” informatics/EHR solution that commonly includes an LIS that is not the first choice of laboratory management.
“We are now at a very significant tipping point in the field of pathology informatics,” declared Bruce Friedman, M.D., Active Emeritus Professor of Pathology at the University of Michigan Medical School. “After more than three decades of stability and broad acceptance of best-of-breed LISs and close collaboration between LIS vendors and pathology professionals, the enterprise-wide-solution is emerging as a favorite of hospital CIOs and CEOs. (more…)
Aug 3, 2012 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, Management & Operations
Medical labs and pathology groups using Sunquest LIS products likely to see positive changes from Sunquest’s fourth change in ownership since 2001
In what is likely to be the biggest deal in clinical laboratory and pathology informatics for this year, Roper Industries, Inc. (NYSE: ROP), of Sarasota, Florida, will acquire Sunquest Information Systems, Inc., of Tucson, Arizona. The purchase price is an impressive $1.42 billion dollars and the deal was announced on Monday this week.
Roper Industries will get a lot for its money. Sunquest holds a significant share of the nation’s market for laboratory information systems (LIS). Sunquest has also built a substantial market share in anatomic pathology informatics, anchored by its CoPath and PowerPath products.
Sales Price of $1.42 Billion for Sunquest and Its Clinical Lab Software
What some may consider an eye-popping sales price of $1.42 billion for Sunquest demonstrates that investor interest in all aspects of the clinical laboratory testing marketplace remains strong. In its second quarter conference call, executives at Roper Industries told the financial analysts that, during 2013, they expect Sunquest to generate $140 million in EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization). If true, that would indicate that the sales price is based upon approximately a 10-times multiple of Sunquest’s EBIDTA. (more…)
Jun 20, 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
Business Intelligence software now allows for real-time data capture, analysis and evaluation of medical laboratory operations
For clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups across the nation, the latest use of middleware is for business intelligence. This is a brand-new trend, as only first-mover and early adopter medical laboratories have acquired and currently use some type of middleware solution that delivers business intelligence.
One-by-one, laboratory informatics companies are crafting middleware products specifically designed to deliver business intelligence to their customers and clients. Business Intelligence (BI) is a computer-based approach to collecting and analyzing business data. A flurry of activity in the laboratory informatics sector reinforces the importance of health IT and healthcare analytics in an increasingly competitive medical laboratory testing market. (more…)
Jun 15, 2012 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Hospital’s purchase of an “enterprise-wide solution” to be the EMR and related ancillary system software often leaves the hospital lab without the full LIS functions found in best-of-breed LIS products
DATELINE—PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, Part II: Adoption of electronic medical record (EMR) systems by hospitals and health systems throughout this country may now be the single most disruptive factor in how hospital labs configure their laboratory information systems (LIS) specifically in support of their parent institutions’ informatics requirements.
This issue surfaced repeatedly during presentations made here on Friday, June 8, at the Strategic Summit organized by the Association for Pathology Informatics (API). In simplest terms, a growing number of hospital and health system administrators want to purchase and deploy a single “enterprise-wide solution” (EWS) for their EMR and total informatics needs. (more…)
