May 21, 2012 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Biobanking is now a $7.9 billion industry and demand for specimens is skyrocketing
Biobanking is going big time! VisionGain estimates that biobanking is now a $7.9 billion industry. That’s a revenue number that should interest pathologists and clinical laboratory managers, since their organizations access large volumes of patient specimens every year.
As one source of human specimens, both clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups have an opportunity to participate in biobanking activities. At this stage in the market, however, few medical laboratories formally participate in biobanking activities. Experts believe that is likely to change.
The world’s largest biomedical database now contains tissue specimens gathered from more than 500,000 middle-aged Britons. It is the U.K. Biobank, which recently made its resources available to researchers. This biobank is backed by the U.K.’s Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust charity. Each tissue sample also has more than 1,000 pieces of health-related and genetic data associated with it.
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Apr 18, 2012 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Actions by major insurers indicate that ACOs operated by hospitals will have competition
Until recently, most media coverage about nascent accountable care organizations (ACOs) centered on the plans of major hospitals and health systems to organize ACOs within their communities. Now comes news that major health insurers are making sizeable investments as they prepare to launch their own ACOs.
These developments could be auspicious for local clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups. It could mean that in many regions around the United States there will be ACOs operated by hospitals/health systems that compete against ACOs operated by health insurance companies. In turn, that would mean more customers for lab testing services in these cities and towns.
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Apr 13, 2012 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Hospital laboratories may find GPOs respond by contracting with more vendors to expand choices of products
Major changes are unfolding in the world of group purchasing organizations (GPOs). As healthcare’s transformation shifts the clinical and financial emphasis of hospitals, health systems, and other providers, these institutions are changing their relationship with GPOs.
In turn, such trends mean changes in the GPO contracts available to hospital laboratories. In the United States, every hospital and health system is typically a member of at least two GPOs. Thus, the clinical laboratories of these hospitals must also participate in the national contracting programs operated by the GPOs.
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Apr 6, 2012 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing
Medical laboratories gain competitive advantage by using GPS and real-time vehicle tracking to improve performance of their couriers
Like everything else in laboratory medicine, even such once-simple operational areas as logistics and courier services are becoming complicated—and more expensive. The reasons are familiar to all clinical laboratory managers and pathologists.
For example, sophisticated new diagnostic technologies require that specimens be transported with greater care to ensure that they arrive at the medical laboratory with full integrity.
Tougher patient privacy laws make it essential that couriers understand how to protect the confidential information that is often printed on the clinical laboratory test requisition forms that are placed in the plastic bags with the lab samples.
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Mar 20, 2012 | Digital Pathology, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Optical character recognition is improving, making it easier for medical laboratories to scan paper documents and convert that data into digital information
Endless flows of paper are the curse of clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups everywhere. Few medical laboratory organizations in the United States have successfully transitioned to a fully paperless environment.
But there is good news for pathologists and clinical lab managers who feel overwhelmed by the daily flood of paper test requisitions and other documents that flow into their labs every day. Several active trends hold the potential to allow more medical laboratories to eliminate all paper and achieve a true digital working environment.
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