In 2017, to Offset Declining Reimbursement and Shrinking Budgets, Savvy Clinical Laboratories Are Using LEAN to Improve Service and Intelligently Cut Costs

Nation’s most experienced lab operations managers, cost-cutters, and Lean experts will gather to share successes and proven ideas at Lab Quality Confab on October 18-19, 2016 Most hospitals and health systems are in the first stages of developing their budgets for 2017. Clinical laboratory administrators and pathologists at these institutions report three common factors are driving the next budget cycle: falling reimbursement, flat or declining inpatient admissions, and directives to cut their...

Adoption of Quality Management Systems Could Mean Competitive Advantage for Clinical Pathology Laboratories

ISO 15189 is a quality management system  specifically designed for the needs of medical laboratories Use of quality management systems (QMS) by innovative clinical laboratories and pathology groups enables them to drive impressive gains in quality, customer satisfaction, and financial performance. This is a key development at a time when medical laboratory budgets are shrinking and more cuts in lab test prices are expected. Going the Extra Mile to Improve Quality Could Be Strategic...

Clinical Pathology Laboratory Industry’s Innovators in Lean, ISO 15189, and Process Improvement Gather in San Antonio

Speakers at Sixth Annual Lab Quality Confab told attendees that ACOs and integration of clinical care now make it important for medical laboratories to use Lean and QMS to deliver more value while substantially reducing costs DATELINE: SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS—Here at the 6th annual Lab Quality Confab and Process Improvement Institute (LQC), an enthusiastic crowd of clinical laboratory industry “first movers” gathered to learn how leading medical laboratories, pathology groups, and hospitals are...

Clinical Laboratories in United States Show More Interest in ISO 15189 Accreditation

It may be a small number of 15189-accredited medical laboratories, but these are prominent lab organizations and their ranks are growing One by one, a small number of innovative clinical laboratory organizations are taking steps to earn accreditation to either ISO 15189 or CAP 15189. This is a quiet trend and one that has yet to attract widespread notice across the world of medical laboratory and pathology testing. It is a trend that touches clinical lab organizations of all sizes. For...

American Hospital Association Says Medicare’s Value-Based Purchasing Could Put Hospital Revenue at Risk

Where hospital margins to be squeezed, that would place hospital laboratories under greater budget constraints Hospitals are honing in on Medicare’s new value-based purchasing program quality metrics in an effort to improve patient care—and earn reimbursement rewards. Clinical laboratory managers and pathologists will want to track implementation of this program, because it is one further step forward in Medicare’s plan to move away from fee-for-service reimbursement. As part of its effort to...
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