Nov 18, 2013 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Effort to do medical laboratory tests at point-of-care is not perfect, but the system did encourage 342 of the 573 drunks identified by the tests to take a ride home
In the world of point-of-care testing (POCT), this may be the most humorous attempt to perform medical laboratory testing in an unusual setting: the men’s toilet at a night club! As part of an anti-drunk driving campaign, a nightclub in Singapore has installed urine analyzers in urinals that automatically signal management when a patron is too drunk to drive.
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers will find this initiative to not only be humorous, but instructive as to how innovative thinkers will apply diagnostic technologies in unorthodox ways. As used in Singapore, this program pairs the diagnostic testing device with an RFID chip and wireless technology to provide a real-time analysis and alert whenever the alcohol level of a customer participating in this program exceeds the legal limit for safe driving.
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Oct 18, 2013 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
The science behind the device is an innovative detection assay of dyes that stain leukocytes so they will fluoresce and enable differentiation of white blood cell subtypes
Over the last couple of years, medical laboratory technology developers have brought a number of FDA-approved point-of-care (POCT) and home self-tests to market.
These medical tests run the full spectrum. They include tests to detect HIV, malaria, pregnancy or male fertility, drug use or Hepatitis C. There are tests to monitor liver function, glucose in diabetics, cholesterol; and provide needle-free CBCs and genetic tests. (more…)
Dec 31, 2012 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Who is responsible when a patient is misdiagnosed because the patient’s physician read a clinical laboratory test report incorrectly?
Could clinical pathologists be held responsible for medical errors caused by other providers? That’s a possibility under a proposal from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
AHRQ is seeking approval for a prototype of a new reporting system for medical errors, AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D., told The New York Times in a story published on September 22, 2012. “Currently there is no mechanism for consumers to report information about patient safety events,” she said.
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Jun 27, 2012 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement
Study evaluated the Western European market for in vitro diagnostic manufacturers
Are clinical laboratories in the United States and other developed nations around the world capable of meeting the expected surge of medical laboratory testing that is expected to come as large numbers of people age into their 60s and 70s? That is a question which has yet to be answered with much confidence by leading healthcare experts.
Recently a respected research firm offered its best guess at what lab specimen growth rates may be and its predictions may surprise many pathologists and clinical laboratory managers. At the same time, the right answer to this important question is critical for lab administrators when planning strategy.
It Takes Years to Expand Capacity of a Clinical Pathology Laboratory
That is because it typically requires years to expand the capacity of a medical laboratory organization. Then there is the challenge of hiring additional pathologists, Ph.D.s, and laboratory scientists at a time when many developed countries already report an acute shortage of trained medical laboratory professionals.
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May 4, 2012 | Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Clinical laboratories will increasingly provide emergency diagnostic services through mobile-unit near-patient testing
In an innovation designed to bring the laboratory to the patient, use of a mobile stroke unit (MSU) shortened the time to treatment decision for acute stroke patients. MSUs equipped with imaging systems and medical laboratory point-of-care testing proved capable of providing early diagnosis and intervention.
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers will immediately recognize the implications of these findings. This study demonstrates how clinicians are taking steps to move clinical laboratory testing out of the traditional central/core laboratory and bring it closer to the patient specifically to reduce the time-to-answer for certain medical conditions, like acute stroke.
One conclusion from this clinical study is that use of a mobile stroke unit offers a potential solution to the medical problem of stroke patients arriving at the hospital too late for treatment, wrote researchers in a study published in the medical journal The Lancet.
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