Mar 18, 2013 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Goal is to deliver more accurate medical laboratory testing in developing countries to improve quality of care
Picture a point-of-care (POC) device that produces highly accurate HIV results at a lower cost and 10 times faster than traditional ELISA testing currently done by clinical laboratories—then automatically, instantaneously transmits and synchronizes the results with cloud-based electronic healthcare records. This device is a reality and was developed by researchers at Columbia University in New York City.
Pathologists and medical laboratory professionals should know that this POC device was developed specifically to support laboratory-quality HIV-testing in remote areas of developing countries. Its creators want to also revolutionize the ability of patients and consumers worldwide to manage their health. (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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Apr 2, 2012 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Pathology
Clinical laboratory managers and pathologists may see more testing shifting to point-of-care
For years, advocates of carbon nanotubes have predicted that this technology can be used to improve the accuracy and speed of clinical laboratory tests. Researchers at Oregon State University (OSU) now report that they have improved the speed at which a carbon nanotube-based bio-sensor can complete a diagnostic analysis.
Experts believe that advances in this area of technology will make it possible to perform routine point-of-care medical laboratory and pathology tests in minutes at a fraction of current cost.
The researchers at OSU used carbon nanotubes (CNT) to increase the speed of biological sensors. The news was posted on the university’s website. The OSU research team said that, when fully developed, the technology could eventually permit a physician to routinely and quickly perform medical laboraory tests in the office, enabling quicker diagnoses.
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Jan 25, 2012 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, News From Dark Daily
Genetic testing and molecular diagnostics will be essential to wider adoption of personalized medicine by nation’s physicians
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA—Here in Silicon Valley at the Personalized Medicine World Conference (PMWC), the role of clinical laboratory testing and anatomic pathology services was consistently recognized as essential in advancing this important healthcare trend. Yet, at the same time, few pathologists or clinical laboratory executives were in attendance.
Your Dark Daily Editor, Robert L. Michel, was here at PMWC this week to speak on the topic of how medical laboratories and pathology groups will be one primary—and important—channel for helping physicians adopt and use personalized medicine in their medical practice. In simplest terms, it is typically pathologists and clinical laboratory professionals who educate doctors about the availability of new clinical lab tests and how to use them in their practice of medicine.
In that role, the medical laboratory provides physicians with information on when to order these new assays, how to interpret the lab test results, and how to use those results to determine the most appropriate therapy. Yet, here at the Personalized Medicine World Conference, developers at biotech companies seem to be overlooking this long-established fact in the clinical care marketplace. (more…)
Jun 24, 2011 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers take note: pharmacies and retail stores are offering medical laboratory testing services that allow patients to take yet another test at home
Clinical laboratory testing performed at home has long been predicted as a natural progression of rapid medical clinics and the growth of in-home testing. Now comes news that Walgreens (NYSE:WAG) is launching a testing service for diabetes patients that will let patients perform blood glucose testing, and blood pressure monitoring at home.
Walgreens is engaging Infopia America of Titusville, Florida, and SmartDiabetes ProActive Health Solutions, to introduce its new product into 284 Walgreens drug stores in central and northeast Florida. The product, called SmartDiabetes, combines a blood glucose monitor and blood pressure monitor in one device. It can transmit patients’ results to a secure server for review by a physician or other provider. Walgreens expects that the SmartDiabetes service will help pharmacists, physicians, and other providers to coordinate the care of patients who have diabetes more effectively than they can do so now.
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