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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Human Longevity Inc. Unleashes Power of Whole-Genome Sequencing to Unlock Keys to Healthy Aging; Research May Lead to New Clinical Laboratory Tests

Human genome pioneer J. Craig Venter’s newest project seeks to ‘change the way medicine is practiced’ by creating genomic-based medicine model

With little fanfare or public notice, a start-up company in San Diego is busy sequencing the largest number of whole human genome sequences in the world. The knowledge expected to result from this effort promises to revolutionize healthcare, as well as clinical laboratory testing.

Human Longevity Inc. (HLI) is a genomics and cell therapy company that has assembled the largest human genome sequencing operation in the world. It’s goal is to use whole genome sequencing and cell-based therapeutics to redefine aging and “meaningfully extend the human lifespan.”

“HLI’s mission is to identify the therapeutically targetable mechanisms responsible for age-related human biological decline, and to apply this intelligence to develop innovative solutions to interrupt or block these processes, meaningfully extending the human lifespan,” HLI states on its website. “We are trying to tackle some of the most vexing diseases like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes … we are working to change the way medicine is practiced through our genomic-focused, preventive model.” (more…)

California Clinical Laboratory Association’s Annual Conference Showcases How Medical Labs Are Using EMPIs and Similar Technologies to Deliver More Value

Progressive pathologists and lab leaders are looking ahead to the day when fee-service reimbursement is replaced by budgeted payment and similar arrangements

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA—More than 100 clinical laboratory owners and lab executives gathered here this week for the annual meeting of the California Clinical Laboratory Association (CCLA). Because the medical laboratory testing marketplace in California is often a bellwether for trends that go national, the presentations were timely and of universal interest to lab professionals working in other regions of the United States.

The membership of CCLA certainly reflects the broader changes happening in the clinical laboratory industry nationally. Whereas a decade or two ago, the majority of CCLA members were independent lab companies providing routine lab testing services to office-based physicians, today the larger share of CCLA members are associated with lab companies that offer patent-protected or proprietary specialty tests. (more…)

Changing Reimbursement for Clinical Pathology Laboratory Testing and Direct-to-Consumer Testing Discussed at California Clinical Laboratory Association Conference in San Diego

The end of fee-for-service payments has huge implications for U.S. medical laboratories and anatomic pathology practices

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA—In the American healthcare system today, the era of fee-for-service medicine will soon end. This development has huge implications for every clinical laboratory and anatomic pathology practice in the United States because fee-for-service is their primary source of revenue.

This week at the 2013 Annual Conference of the California Clinical Laboratory Association (CCLA), no single topic got more attention than that of reimbursement for clinical laboratory tests and anatomic pathology services. (more…)

Feds to Destroy Bid Documents for Medicare’s Clinical Laboratory Competitive Bidding Demonstration Project in San Diego

Following an agreement by federal attorneys to destroy the lab bidder’s documents, a federal judge dismisses the case


Last month in a San Diego courtroom, federal attorneys agreed to destroy the clinical pathology laboratory bid documents that had been submitted as part of the poorly-conceived Medicare Part B Laboratory Competitive Bidding Demonstration Project that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) attempted to implement in 2008.

An agreement to destroy the bid documents was negotiated agreement between attorneys for the plaintiff clinical laboratories and federal attorneys for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

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