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Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

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Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

Hosted by Robert Michel
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Laboratory Leaders at 2024 Annual Executive War College Discuss Critical Challenges Facing Clinical Laboratory and Pathology Managers for 2024 and Beyond

Trifecta of forces at work that will affect the clinical laboratory and pathology industries have been described as a ‘perfect storm’ requiring lab and practice managers to be well informed

Digital pathology, artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, and the perfect storm of changing federal regulations, took centerstage at the 29th Executive War College on Diagnostics, Clinical Laboratory, and Pathology Management in New Orleans this week, where more than 1,000 clinical laboratory and pathology leaders convened over three days.

This was the largest number of people ever onsite for what has become the world’s largest event focused exclusively on lab management topics and solutions. Perhaps the highlight of the week was the federal Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) announcement of its final rule on Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs). Overall, the conference featured more than 120 speakers, many of them national thought leaders on the topic of clinical lab and pathology management. More than 65% of the audience onsite were executive level lab managers.

 “The level of interest in the annual Executive War College is testimony to the ongoing need for dynamic, engaging, and highly relevant conference events,” said Robert Michel (above), Editor-in-Chief of Dark Daily and its sister publication The Dark Report, and founder of the Executive War College. “These in-person gatherings present great opportunities for clinical laboratory and pathology managers and leaders to network and speak with people they otherwise might not meet.” (Photo copyright: Dark Intelligence Group.)

Demonstrating Clinical Value

For those who missed the action onsite, the following is a synopsis of the highlights this week.

Lâle White, Executive Chair and CEO of XiFin, spoke about the future of clinical laboratory testing and the factors reshaping the industry. There are multiple dynamics impacting healthcare economics and outcomes—namely rising costs, decreasing reimbursements, and the move to a more consumer-focused healthcare. But it is up to labs, she said, to ensure their services are not simply viewed as a commodity.

“Laboratory diagnostics have the potential to change the economics of healthcare by really gaining efficiencies,” she noted. “And it’s up to labs to demonstrate clinical value by helping physicians manage two key diagnostic decision points—what tests to order, and what to do with the results.”

But even as labs find ways to increase the value offered to clinicians, there are other disruptive factors in play. Consumer-oriented tech companies such as Google, Apple, and Amazon are democratizing access to patient data in unforeseen ways, and Medicare Advantage plans are changing the way claims are processed and paid.

Redefining Human Data

Reynolds Salerno, PhD, Director of the Division of Laboratory Services for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided an update on the agency’s top priorities for 2024.

Clinical labs are fundamental components of the public health infrastructure. So, the CDC plans on focusing on delivering high-quality laboratory science, supported by reliable diagnostics and informatics for disease outbreaks and exposures, and engaging with public and private sector partners.

Salerno is an active member of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act Committee (CLIAC), which has been working on a number of initiatives, including revisions to the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA) that would change the definition of “materials derived from the human body” to include data derived from human specimens such as medical imaging, genetic sequences, etc.

New Molecular Testing Codes

The history of MolDX and Z-Codes were the topics discussed by Gabriel Bien-Willner, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer for healthcare claims and transaction processing company Palmetto GBA. Molecular testing is highly complex, and the lack of well-defined billing codes and standardization makes it difficult to know if a given test is reasonable and necessary.

Z-Codes were established to clarify what molecular testing was performed—and why—prompting payers to require both Z-Codes and Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes when processing molecular test claims. Medicare’s MolDX program further streamlines the claims process by utilizing expertise in the molecular diagnostics space to help payers develop coverage policies and reimbursement for these tests.

FDA Final Rule on LDT Regulation

Timothy Stenzel, MD, PhD, CEO of Grey Haven Consulting and former director of the FDA’s Office of In Vitro Diagnostics reviewed the latest updates from the FDA’s Final Rule on LDT (laboratory developed test) regulation. Prior to the FDA releasing its final rule, some experts suggested that the new regulations could result in up to 90% of labs discontinuing their LDT programs, impacting innovation, and patient care.

However, the final rule on LDTs is very different from the original proposed rule which created controversy. The final rule actually lowers the regulatory burden to the point that some labs may not have to submit their LDTs at all. The FDA is reviewing dozens of multi-cancer detection assays, some of which have launched clinically as LDTs. The agency is likely to approve those that accurately detect cancers for which there is no formal screening program.

Stenzel explained the FDA’s plan to down-classify most in vitro diagnostic tests, changing them from Class III to Class II, and exempting more than 1,000 assays from FDA review. He also discussed the highlights of the Quality Management System Regulation (QMSR). Launched in January, the QMSR bought FDA requirements in line with ISO 13485, making compliance easier for medical device manufacturers and test developers working internationally.

Looming Perfect Storm of Regulatory Changes

To close out Day 1, Michel took to the stage again with a warning to clinical laboratories about the looming “Perfect Storm” trifecta—the final FDA ruling on LDTs, Z-Code requirements for genetic testing, and updates to CLIA ’92 that could result in patient data being considered a specimen.

Laboratory leaders must think strategically if their labs are to survive the fallout, because the financial stress felt by labs in recent years will only be exacerbated by macroeconomic trends such as:

  • Staff shortages,
  • Rising costs,
  • Decreasing and delayed reimbursements, and
  • Tightening supply chains.

Lab administrators looking for ways to remain profitable and prosperous should look beyond the transactional Clinical Lab 1.0 fee-for-service model and adopt Clinical Lab 2.0, which embraces HEDIS (Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set) scores and STAR ratings to offer more value to Medicare Advantage and other payers.

Wednesday’s General Session agenda was packed with information about the rise of artificial intelligence, big data, and precision medicine in healthcare. Taking centerstage on the program’s final day was Michael Simpson, President and CEO of Clinisys. Simpson gave a global perspective on healthcare data as the new driver of innovation in diagnostics and patient care.

Michel closed the conference on Wednesday by recapping many of these highlights, and then inviting his audience to the 30th annual Executive War College Diagnostics, Clinical Laboratory, and Pathology Management conference to be held on April 29-30, 2025, here at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. Register now to attend this critical gathering.

—Leslie Williams

Related Information:

Executive War College: The Ultimate Event for Helping Solve Your Diagnostics, Clinical Lab and Pathology Management Challenges

Labs Should Prepare for Arrival of ‘Perfect Storm’

Executive War College 2025 Registration

Perfect Storm of Clinical Lab and Pathology Practice Regulatory Changes to Be Featured in Discussions at 29th Annual Executive War College

Forces in play will directly impact the operations and financial stability of many of the nation’s clinical laboratories

With significant regulatory changes expected in the next 18 to 24 months, experts are predicting a “Perfect Storm” for managers of clinical laboratories and pathology practices.

Currently looming are changes to critical regulations in two regulatory areas that will affect hospitals and medical laboratories. One regulatory change is unfolding with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the other regulatory effort centers around efforts to update the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA).

The major FDA changes involve the soon-to-be-published Final Rule on Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs), which is currently causing its own individual storm within healthcare and will likely lead to lawsuits, according to the FDA Law Blog.

In a similar fashion—and being managed under the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)—are the changes to CLIA rules that are expected to be the most significant since 2003.

The final element of the “Perfect Storm” of changes coming to the lab industry is the increased use by private payers of Z-Codes for genetic test claims.

In his general keynote, Robert L. Michel, Dark Daily’s Editor-in-Chief and creator of the 29th Executive War College on Diagnostics, Clinical Laboratory, and Pathology Management, will set the stage by introducing a session titled, “Regulatory Trifecta Coming Soon to All Labs! Anticipating the Federal LDT Rule, Revisions to CLIA Regulations, and Private Payers’ Z-Code Policies for Genetic Claims.”

“There are an unprecedented set of regulatory challenges all smashing into each other and the time is now to start preparing for the coming storm,” says Robert L. Michel (above), Dark Daily’s Editor-in-Chief and creator of the 29th Executive War College on Diagnostics, Clinical Laboratory, and Pathology Management, a national conference on lab management taking place April 30-May 1, 2024, at the Hyatt in New Orleans. (Photo copyright: The Dark Intelligence Group.)

Coming Trifecta of Disruptive Forces to Clinical Laboratory, Anatomic Pathology

The upcoming changes, Michel notes, have the potential to cause major disruptions at hospitals and clinical laboratories nationwide.

“Importantly, this perfect storm—which I like to describe as a Trifecta because these three disruptive forces that will affect how labs will conduct business—is not yet on the radar screen of most lab administrators, executives, and pathologists,” he says.

Because of that, several sessions at this year’s Executive War College conference, now in its 29th year, will offer information designed to give attendees a better understanding of how to manage what’s coming for their labs and anatomic pathology practices.

“This regulatory trifecta consists of three elements,” adds Michel, who is also Editor-in-Chief of Dark Daily’s sister publication The Dark Report, a business intelligence service for senior level executives in the clinical laboratory and pathology industry, as well in companies that offer solutions to labs and pathology groups.

According to Michel, that trifecta includes the following:

Element 1

FDA’s Draft LDT Rule

FDA’s LDT rule is currently the headline story in the lab industry. Speaking about this development and two other FDA initiatives involving diagnostics at the upcoming Executive War College will be pathologist Tim Stenzel, MD, PhD, former director of the FDA’s Office of In Vitro Diagnostics. It’s expected that the final rule on LDTs could be published by the end of April.

Stenzel will also discuss harmonization of ISO 13485 Medical Devices and the FDA’s recent memo on reclassifying most high-risk in vitro diagnostics to moderate-risk to ease the regulatory burden on companies seeking agency review of their diagnostic assays.

Element 2

CLIA Reforms and Updates

The second element is coming reforms and updates to the CLIA regulations, which Michel says will be the “most-significant changes to CLIA in more than two decades.” Speaking on this will be Reynolds Salerno, PhD, Acting Director, Center for Laboratory Systems and Response at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Salerno will also cover the CDC’s efforts to foster closer connections with clinical labs and their local public health laboratories, as well as the expanding menu of services for labs that his department now offers.

Element 3

Private Payer Use of Z-Codes for Test Claims

On the third development—increased use by private payers of Z-Codes for genetic test claims—the speaker will be pathologist Gabriel Bien-Willner, MD, PhD. He is the Medical Director of the MolDX program at Palmetto GBA, a Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC). It is the MolDX program that oversees the issuance of Z-Codes for molecular and diagnostic tests.

UnitedHealthcare (UHC) was first to issue such a Z-Code policy last year, although it has delayed implementation several times. Other major payers are watching to see if UHC succeeds with this requirement, Michel says.

Other Critical Topics to be Covered at EWC

In addition to these need-to-know regulatory topics, Michel says that this year’s Executive War College will present almost 100 sessions and include 148 speakers. Some of the other topics on the agenda in New Orleans include the following and more:

  • Standardizing automation, analyzers, and tests across 25 lab sites.
  • Effective ways to attract, hire, and retain top-performing pathologists.
  • Leveraging your lab’s managed care contracts to increase covered tests.
  • Legal and compliance risks of artificial intelligence (AI) in clinical care.

“Our agenda is filled with the topics that are critically important to senior managers when it comes to managing their labs and anatomic pathology practices,” Michel notes.

“Every laboratory in the United States should recognize these three powerful developments are all in play at the same time and each will have direct impact on the clinical and financial performance of our nation’s labs,” Michel says. “For that reason, every lab should have one or more of their leadership team present at this year’s Executive War College to understand the implications of these developments.”

Visit here to learn more about the 29th Executive War College conference taking place in New Orleans.

—Bob Croce

Related Information:

One Step Closer to Final: The LDT Rule Arrives at OMB, Making a Lawsuit More Likely

FDA: CDRH Announces Intent to Initiate the Reclassification Process for Most High Risk IVDs

FDA Proposes Down-Classifying Most High-Risk IVDs

Z-codes Requirements for Molecular Diagnostic Testing

2024 Executive War College Agenda

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