Feb 11, 2015 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Pathology
This collaborative effort with microbiology labs will keep microbiologists at the forefront of infectious disease diagnostics
A partnership of San Diego-based genome sequencing company Illumina, and the French multinational, in vitro diagnostics company bioMérieux, plans to launch a next-generation sequencing (NGS) epidemiology service that will allow microbiologists to rapidly identify strains that threaten hospital inpatients and public health, according to a press release distributed by the Illumina-bioMérieux team.
Illumina-bioMérieux Service to Aid Hospital and Public Health Labs
Illumina designated sequencing laboratories with Illumina MiSeq® systems will collaborate with microbiologists working in hospital and public health laboratories to prevent, rapidly track, and contain infectious disease agents in hospitals and communities. (more…)
Oct 8, 2014 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Google’s goal is to build a genomics database to facilitate early diagnosis and prevention of life-threatening diseases; may give pathologists a new diagnostic tool
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is preparing to build a human genome database that it says may become the world’s biggest. The company plans to also assemble other medical information, including clinical laboratory test data, as it pursues plans to become a player in the market for healthcare Big Data.
This work will be done by Google X Life Sciences, a new business for Google. The project is known as the Baseline Study. (more…)
Sep 22, 2014 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Digital Pathology, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
More than 12 cancer types were studied in this project, which is a part of The Cancer Genome Atlas
New molecular and genetic knowledge is making it possible for researchers to propose a new system for classifying tumors. Upon implementation, such a system will give oncologists and pathologists, and clinical laboratory professionals a new tool to improve how they diagnose and treat cancer patients.
Tumor categories—defined by cell types instead of where they are found in the body—may lead to more accurate diagnoses and more effective treatments for one in 10 patients, according to the recent study. It was summarized in a Medline Plus Health News By Date story posted on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) website. (more…)
Sep 12, 2014 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Pathologists should take note that an increasing number of patients who want genetic tests are complaining when they learn their insurance plan will not pay for such tests
Concerned about the increased cost of genetic tests, health insurers are becoming reluctant to pay for many types of molecular diagnostics and gene tests. When refusing to pay for these tests, however, they face a buzz saw of angry patients—many of whom see a genetic test as their last resort for a diagnosis and selection of a therapy that might just work for them.
Reuters recently reported that health insurance companies are reluctant to pay providers for genetic-sequencing tests until more research becomes available. This is a sign for pathologists and clinical laboratory managers that enough patients have been affected by this situation to justify news coverage by a major news source. (more…)
Sep 8, 2014 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, News From Dark Daily
Blame it on shrinking hospital budgets and reduced lab testing prices; successful labs are using Lean, Six Sigma, and process improvement to reduce expenses and boost quality
Topic number one at clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups across the nation is cost-cutting, for two reasons. First, it is budget time at hospitals and labs are being told to aggressively reduce their costs in 2015. Second, health insurers are paying less for medical lab testing.
Simply said, labs are experiencing one of the toughest financial squeezes in two decades. Dark Daily has written about the underlying trends responsible for this financial pressure. Nationally, hospital inpatient admissions are down at the same time that hospitals are being paid less per inpatient. In response, hospitals are asking all clinical departments—including their clinical laboratories—to prune staff and cut budgets for 2015. (more…)
