Feb 20, 2017 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers may be overlooking ways that sales teams can add strategic value
As of January 1, 2018, the value of a top-performing clinical laboratory sales professional will increase because, on that date, labs will see a reduction in Medicare Part B clinical laboratory test prices as mandated by the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) of 2014.
As these Medicare price cuts become effective, clinical laboratories and hospital lab outreach programs across the United States will need their lab sales representatives to bring in new client accounts that can generate additional revenue to offset the decrease in Medicare lab test reimbursements.
It was to recognize these laboratory sales professionals that The Dark Report organized the National Lab Sales Excellence Award in 2016. These new national sales awards were unveiled at the Executive War College (EWC) in New Orleans on April 26-27, 2016, and will return again at the 2017 EWC May 2-3. (more…)
Feb 17, 2017 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Ongoing shift to narrow provider networks excludes many medical laboratories, thus causing them to lose access to patients served by these networks
If there is any single trend that has worked against the clinical and financial interests of community clinical laboratories and hospital/health system lab outreach programs, it is the trend of narrow networks. When medical laboratories and other providers find themselves excluded from a payer’s provider network, they lose access to the patients served by that network.
Thus, it won’t be good news that a major consulting company has confirmed that the trend of narrow payer networks is intensifying. The study was conducted by healthcare consulting firm McKinsey and Company.
McKinsey concluded that insurers participating in the government’s Healthcare Exchanges continue to move toward narrow networks of healthcare providers. This trend often leaves smaller clinical laboratories, hospital lab outreach programs, and anatomic pathology groups on the sidelines as insurers attempt to reduce costs. (more…)
Feb 15, 2017 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Concepts of ‘recurring cost of bad quality’ and systemic failures are still new in clinical laboratory management, yet offer the potential for substantial savings to lab managers who learn these techniques and tools
Today, most clinical laboratories and pathology groups feel the financial squeeze from shrinking budgets and decreasing prices for lab tests. This is a big reason why cutting costs is a primary goal for nearly every medical laboratory in the United States.
In their cost-cutting efforts, labs quickly pursue the low-hanging fruit of reducing staff overtime and using Lean and Six Sigma to identify obvious sources of unnecessary costs. But there is a source of huge cost savings that goes unnoticed and unaddressed in all but a handful of the nation’s savviest clinical labs and pathology groups. It is the recurring cost of bad quality. (more…)
Feb 13, 2017 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Innovative technological advances could potentially provide clinical laboratories, pathology groups, and medical researchers with improved methodologies for designing, performing, and analyzing lab tests that use genetic information
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) have developed an innovative new enzyme that promises to improve the methods and tools used by pathology groups and clinical laboratories when conducting genetic testing.
The enzyme enables the reproduction of large quantities of Ribonucleic acid (RNA) to be accurately duplicated. It also can perform reverse transcription and scrutinize itself while copying genetic information, which will enable both researchers and clinical laboratories to improve the accuracy of gene sequencing where RNA is involved.
The team published their findings in Science, the academic journal of The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and filed for a provisional patent for the new sequence of the discovered enzyme. (more…)
Feb 10, 2017 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
Medical laboratories to become antimicrobial stewards in the fight against antibiotic resistance
At the start of 2017, new requirements for antimicrobial stewardship programs became effective for hospitals and other providers that must accredit to the standards of Medicare Conditions of Participation (COP) and The Joint Commission. Clinical laboratories serving hospitals are already engaged in efforts to improve the use of antibiotics in ways that slow the growth of antibiotic-resistant strains of infectious agents.
Even as the nation’s hospitals embark on efforts to implement effective antimicrobial stewardship programs, researchers continue to seek solutions to the same problem. They are following several paths to combat the growing resistance certain pathogens have to antibiotics. In particular, two approaches are interesting for pathologists and medical laboratory personnel. One involves understanding the processes that lead to antibiotic resistance. The other is to identify useful biomarkers associated with specific strains of pathogens. (more…)
