Early Evidence from Medicare’s Bundled Payment Pilots Show Improved Quality at Reduced Cost of Care in Findings with Consequences for Medical Laboratories

Apr 28, 2014 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology

Industry experts predict private payers will adopt bundled payment arrangements for both inpatient and outpatient procedures Early evidence indicates that Medicare’s bundled-payment pilot has helped participating providers improve the quality of care while better managing healthcare costs. Should more detailed findings confirm these outcomes, Medicare could decide to expand the range of clinical services it wants covered by a bundled-payment arrangement. As of the first of this year, in fact,...

FDA Issues Proposed Rule on Medical Device UDI System That Will Also Apply to Clinical Pathology Analyzers and Lab Products

Sep 4, 2012 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology

Many products that medical laboratories use will be covered under the new UDI system You’re reading it here first! UPCs—universal product codes—are coming soon to the medical laboratory analyzers and other products that your clinical laboratory purchases. Under a proposed rule published by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), medical devices will soon have UDIs—universal device identifiers. You know about UPCs. Those are the ubiquitous “universal product codes” that are found on literally...

Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) Pushed by Hospital Members to Deliver More Value

Apr 13, 2012 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations

Hospital laboratories may find GPOs respond by contracting with more vendors to expand choices of products Major changes are unfolding in the world of group purchasing organizations (GPOs). As healthcare’s transformation shifts the clinical and financial emphasis of hospitals, health systems, and other providers, these institutions are changing their relationship with GPOs. In turn, such trends mean changes in the GPO contracts available to hospital laboratories. In the United States, every...
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