May 13, 2013 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers may find new opportunities to increase testing volumes as patients’electronic health records yield clinically relevant data
Sophisticated use of electronic health records (EHRs), automated reminder systems, and telephone follow-up can double cancer-screening compliance by consumers. That could mean an increase in testing volumes for clinical laboratories serving clinics using this approach.
Researchers at the Group Health Research Institute (GHRI) used electronic health records to identify Group Health Cooperative (GHC) patients who weren’t screened regularly for cancer of the colon and rectum.
Because of how EHRs were used to step-up patient compliance for cancer screening, the study findings may be useful for pathologists and clinical laboratory managers. Over the years, many medical laboratories have furnished referring physicians a list of their patients who are due for screening tests, such as for cervical cancer. (more…)
Apr 12, 2013 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Study findings show that clinical labs and pathology groups have opportunity to add value for consumers who actively monitor their health information
There is the opportunity for clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups to build closer relationships with consumers by improving the access consumers have to their medical laboratory test data. A majority of Americans are now tracking health indicators, according to a recently published study.
Americans are becoming more self-aware and are assuming responsibility for their own health status. Those are findings from a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Projects. This study found that more than two-thirds (69%) of U.S. adults track a health indicator for themselves or a loved one, which has changed their overall approach to health. (more…)
Apr 10, 2013 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Ongoing federal program to encourage providers to adopt EHRs is not without its critics who contend the market is dominated by nation’s biggest health IT companies
News reporters have finally begun to notice that it is boom time for vendors of electronic health record (EHR) systems. Over the past three years, revenue and profits have soared at the nation’s biggest health information companies.
Of course, pathologists and clinical laboratory managers had front row seats to watch these events as they unfolded in recent years. Since 2010, every clinical laboratory and anatomic pathology group has been working to interface their laboratory information systems (LIS) with the EHR systems of parent hospitals and client physicians. (more…)
Apr 5, 2013 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Advances in HIE technology and performance could prove beneficial to clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups
Even before most clinical laboratories have substantial experience with a full-function health information exchange (HIE) serving their region, one HIE expert is predicting that the next generation of HIEs is soon to arrive and will deliver more functionality.
“We’re maturing from HIE 1.0 to HIE 2.0,” declared Micky Tripathi. “We’re in a new world now.” Tripathi is in a position to know. He is CEO of the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative. He also participates on the boards and/or steering committees of the Information Exchange Workgroup of the HIT Policy Committee, the eHealth Initiative, and the New England Health Exchange Network (NEHEN). (more…)
Mar 11, 2013 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Improved expert system may lead to more clinical laboratory testing for patients with subclinical thyroid disease
It’s long been predicted that use of computer algorithms to sift through clinical data sets can be one way to detect disease. This is a diagnostic method that—in theory—could either increase or decrease the need to perform medical laboratory tests for certain types of diseases.
A paper recently published by researchers in India describes an improved algorithm to detect thyroid disease by computer screening. The advancement could lead to earlier detection of subclinical thyroid problems and allow for earlier diagnosis and intervention.
Detecting Disease with Computer Algorithm and Electronic Health Records
Jaganathan Palanichamy and Rajkumar Nallamuthu of the PSNA College of Engineering and Technology in Tamilnadu, India, showed that the classification of a raw dataset from patient records can allow the detection of undiagnosed thyroid problems through computerized screening. They described the results of the study in a paper published by the International Journal of Computational Science and Engineering. (more…)
