Vitamin D Testing: What the Government Giveth, It Taketh Away

Jun 26, 2009 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology

New Study to Research if Supplements of Vitamin D, Fish Oil Reduce Health Risks With the volume of Vitamin D testing skyrocketing in clinical laboratories across the nation, leave it to government bureaucrats to work at counter purposes to each other. With one hand, the federal Medicare program is proposing to restrict coverage guidelines and reimbursement for Vitamin D testing to Medicare patients. With another hand, the federally-funded National Institutes of Health (NIH) is funding a large,...

LabCorp Pays $106.7 Million for Monogram Biosciences in Personalized Medicine Play

Jun 23, 2009 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology

Acquisition adds more companion diagnostics to LabCorp’s molecular test menu Here’s another validation of the prediction that companion diagnostics will be a cornerstone of personalized medicine. Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (NYSE: LH) of Burlington, North Carolina, said Tuesday (June 23) it would acquire Monogram Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGRM) of South San Francisco, California. In an all cash deal totaling $106.7 million, LabCorp will pay $4.55 per share. “Monogram...

DNA Vaccine for Horses Holds Promise for Better, Safer Human Vaccines

Jun 22, 2009 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology

Milestone demonstration validates effectiveness of DNA vaccine technology in large mammals Why is registration of a new equine vaccine for West Nile virus generating excitement among biomedical researchers? It represents a breakthrough in DNA vaccine technology, demonstrating this new class of vaccines is viable for human use. Many pathologists and clinical laboratory professionals will find this news noteworthy for several reasons. First, it is an important milestone in the use of molecular...

St. Elizabeth Medical Center May Be First U.S. Hospital to Hold Three ISO Accreditations

Jun 19, 2009 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology

Utica Hospital holds accreditation in ISO 9001 and 14001, may pursue 15189 When the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved DNV Healthcare, Inc. , of Cincinnati, Ohio, to accredit hospitals in the United States last fall, it changed the accreditation landscape significantly. A division of Det Norske Veritas of Oslo, Norway, DNV Healthcare is the first new hospital accreditation competitor for The Joint Commission http://www.jointcommission.org in 40 years. The Joint...
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