Oct 14, 2013 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Pathologists may be interested to learn that everyone’s breath reveals a signature composition of metabolites that may reflect a lifetime of diet, state of health, illnesses, and exposure to chemicals
New research shows that a person’s “breathprint” is as unique as a fingerprint and may be as effective as bodily fluids in diagnosing diseases. That same research effort is showing that it is feasible to combine breath specimens and mass spectrometry to accurately identify disease. That could give clinical laboratories a new methodology to use when creating diagnostic assays.
These findings are part of a new study conducted by researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) in Zurich. The study was published by the journal PLOS ONE. (more…)
Aug 12, 2009 | Digital Pathology, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Use of digital pathology imaging allows both specialists to jointly review cases
In a pioneering effort at The University of Kansas, a radiologist and a pathologist are working side by side to review each other’s primary images and issue an integrated diagnostic report for breast cancer patients. The big surprise from this groundbreaking collaboration is a measurable improvement in diagnostic accuracy, leading to improved patient outcomes.
By reaching across the traditional silos that separate the daily practice of radiology from the daily practice of pathology, these two specialists have demonstrated that the concept of diagnostic integration of in vivo (imaging) and in vitro (pathology) diagnostics can demonstrably improve patient care. In part, this happens because of improved concordance in the reports issued by the radiologist and the pathologist.
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May 11, 2009 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Nation’s largest public health district wants to promote personalized medicine
Here’s an unusual development in genetic testing that shows clinical laboratory managers how fast the lab testing marketplace is changing. Two-hospital Palomar Pomerado Health (PPH), California’s largest public health district, recently partnered with 23andMe to introduce a personalized medicine service in North San Diego County.
PPH now sells 23andMe genetic test kits for $399 at express care centers in two grocery stores and an outpatient center. The test kit, Time magazine’s 2008 pick for Invention of the Year, comes with a 30-minute education session by a nurse practitioner.
(more…)
Mar 18, 2009 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Pathologists Discuss State of Genetic Testing at World Congress of Pathology
Dateline: Sydney, Australia- New-fangled technology is making genetic testing and molecular diagnostics ever more precise tools to aid clinicians, but at least two internationally-respected experts in genetics still consider family history to be a primary-if not the most useful-source of knowledge about a patient’s genetic risk factors. Both experts were in Sydney, Australia, to speak at the XXV World Congress of Pathology which took place on March 13-15, 2009.
“Family history remains the most valuable genetic test available to us today,” declared Michael S. Watson, Ph.D., Executive Director of the American College of Medical Genetics in Rockville, Maryland, in his presentation titled “Translation of Genetic Information into Healthcare Use.” He discussed the importance of building a multi-dimensional health record that included family history and would follow the patient from cradle to grave. (more…)
Dec 4, 2006 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Dateline: Bogota, Columbia – In recent days, The Dark Report visited clinical laboratories in this high-altitude city, situated 8,560 feet above sea level. The state of the laboratory profession in Colombia is well developed and the country’s healthcare system is recognized as providing high quality services.
The first site visit was to IPS Laboratorio Clinico. It is owned an operated by Compensar. The best way to describe Compensar is to say that it operates like a Kaiser Permanente without hospital inpatient services. Compensar provides health care to ambulatory patients who are enrolled members.
The central laboratory is modern and services approximately 1,200 patients per day. There are six satellite blood draw sites. These are open Monday through Saturday, from 7 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. Couriers bring these specimens into the core laboratory where they are tested and results made available by day’s end. Three of the satellite sites have rapid response laboratories and blood draws for urgent testing are performed at the core main laboratory facility throughout the day. The on-site test menu for this laboratory numbers approximately 600 different assays.
Dr. Carmen Cecilia Trujillo is Chief of the Laboratory and hosted the site visit by The Dark Report. She is justifiably proud of an operation that has the quality and productivity to match many laboratories in the United States. Of particular note is a rapidly-developing Six Sigma quality management program at IPS Laboratorio Clinico. Dr. Alba Garzon spearheads this initiative, which was launched in microbiology. Her team has achieved 5.47 Sigma in certain microbiology work processes (which is TBFI errors per million events).
Next on The Dark Report’s tour of laboratories in Bogota was Laboratorio Medico Echavarria. It is located directly across the street from the Colombia headquarters of Roche Diagnostics, which was hosting The Dark Report’s visit to Colombia. Laboratorio Medico Echavarria is an example of an independent commercial laboratory which has grown by consolidation. It operates in TBFI cities around Colombia and has ambitions to expand into neighboring countries.
This laboratory facility was new, having opened just 18 months ago. It is an open plan laboratory. Our tour was hosted by Catalina Perez Koller, M.D., a board-certifed pathologist who is Directora Cientifica. She described a laboratory organized to provide primary testing for the patients of office-based physicians. Laboratorio Medico Echavarria also performs reference work, providing reference and esoteric testing to other laboratories and clinics. The on-site test menu is about 600 assays. This laboratory serves more than 1,000 patients per day.
For pathologists and laboratorians in the United States, Dark Daily can offer some interesting and useful insights from these site visits. First, the level of quality, productivity, and sophisticated testing done by these two laboratory organizations demonstrates how laboratory “best practices” are converging across the globe. Second, leadership in these laboratories is keenly motivated to respond to declines in reimbursement while still introducing new diagnostic technology to their clients. Thus, the management team in these laboratories are actively educating themselves about the latest innovations in laboratory management and operations. Third, they are alert to the emerging potential of “health tourism” to bring cash-paying patients into their country. In fact, a growing number of patients now travel from surrounding countries to get their healthcare in Colombia.
Dark Daily has a key observation to offer: North America and Europe do not have a monopoly on skilled experts in laboratory medicine. Site visits to laboratories in countries like Colombia consistently demonstrate that the level of quality and service is advancing steadily. Because of unique economic circumstances, necessity is motivating many of these laboratories to develop clever management solutions to problems common to laboratories in the United States.
Should you have questions or comments, simply email Robert at rmichel@darkdaily.com.
PS: You may wonder how The Dark Report ends up in a country like Colombia. Upcoming in the next few days will be an assessment of a multi-nation laboratory meeting hosted by Roche Diagnostics and Sysmex in Cartagena, Columbia. Robert Michel was one of the featured speakers at DIAmante. Laboratory Site visits in Bogota were arranged by Ivan Ricardo Mendez R., who is Gerente de Mercadeo (country manager) and Alonso Emilio Torres, Gerente de Producto (product manager) of Roche Diagnostics in Colombia. Thanks are extended to both individuals for their contributions.
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