News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

Hosted by Robert Michel

News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

Hosted by Robert Michel
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Whole Gene Sequencing for Diagnosis Is Goal of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and GenomeQuest in a New Collaboration

Goals are to use whole gene sequencing to develop better clinical laboratory assays in support of personalized medicine

Creating new clinical laboratory tests to support personalized medicine is one goal of a unique collaboration recently announced that involves the pathology department at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and GenomeQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:GQ). The two collaborators are expanding a relationship launched several years ago that involved doing whole genome sequencing of tumors.

More specifically, the expanded relationship will be a two-year collaboration to develop whole-genome analysis (WGA) applications for personalized medicine. The move signals pathologists and clinical laboratory managers that first movers are taking steps to address the growing need for clinical genomics informatics infrastructure.

“The plummeting cost of sequencing and the increasing volume of predictive, public studies makes the clinical application of genomics not just a practicality but a healthcare imperative,” declared GenomeQuest CEO Richard Resnick. “We believe that our collaboration with a combined innovation and delivery leader like BIDMC is a major step forward in expanding genomics and its rewards from the bench to the bedside.” (more…)

Why Your Ford Mustang or Toyota Prius Will Soon Test Drivers for Glucose Levels and Perform Other Medical Laboratory Tests

Pathologists take note! In-car health management services are intended to further patient-centered healthcare

If a smartphone can be configured to perform a medical laboratory test, then why can’t some clinical lab tests be performed by an automobile? Believe it or not, several car companies are preparing to introduce these types of features into their automobiles in coming years!

First out of the box with the concept of “lab testing in an automobile” are carmakers Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) and Toyota Motor Corporation (NSYE: TM). Each company has teamed up with healthcare device companies to develop in-car connectivity solutions. The goal is to provide in-vehicle medical testing capabilities that empower consumers with chronic illnesses or medical disorders to manage their condition while on the road.

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Physicians Embrace mHealth Technology, Creating New Opportunities for Clinical Laboratories to Add Value

Mobile health devices can allow physicians to consult with pathologists in real time

Mobile-health technology (mHealth) is the hot ticket with physicians. The advent of mobile computing, smartphones, and iPad-types of devices are fueling a strong demand by physicians for mobile apps that can help them receive alerts, stay informed of patient progress, access lab test results, and contact patients.

This is a swift-moving trend and clinical laboratory managers will want to develop information technology (IT) strategies to serve this keen interest by physicians to use their mobile-health devices to order medical laboratory tests and receive laboratory test results.

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Hospital CIOs Pessimistic about Pace of EHR Adoption, as Numbers Show Mixed Story

CIOs across America are concerned that their hospitals might not make the 2015 meaningful use deadline

For all the excitement about hospital and physician adoption of electronic health record (EHR) systems, many CIOs of the nation’s leading health systems and hospitals are pessimistic about their organization’s ability to meet “meaningful use” (MU) requirements by the year 2015.

This is probably not news to most pathologists and clinical laboratory managers working in hospital laboratories. Generally, members of their medical laboratory team are usually part of every hospital’s EHR implementation task force, since clinical laboratory test data makes up a significant portion of the typical patient health record.

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