May 28, 2014 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers can expect that physicians will want to incorporate digital remote patient monitoring into their clinical practices
Swift advances in technology devoted to fitness-tracking devices used by consumers are creating opportunities for physicians to tap that data to remotely monitor their patients. These pioneering efforts show how even medical laboratory testing functions might eventually be incorporated in these fitness tracking products.
Of course, these devices were created for non-clinical functions. But they do allow doctors to get real-time looks at a patient’s vital signs outside of the traditional office visit. Using these consumer electronic devices for medical purposes is part of the larger trend of marshalling technology to produce better patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. (more…)
May 17, 2013 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Pathologists will want to engage with physicians as wireless devices and smartphone apps make it possible to maintain continuous surveillance of the body
Pathologists might want to borrow a page from a tech-savvy doctor who was voted the “Most Influential Physician Executive” in 2012. A cardiologist, this physician says he now prescribes mobile applications for his patients almost as frequently as he prescribes therapeutic drugs.
Many clinical laboratory managers will recognize the name of Eric Topol, M.D., who is the Director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute, Professor of Genomics at the Scripps Research Institute, and Chief Academic Officer at Scripps Health, all located in La Jolla, California. Topol has a passion for wireless medical technology. Moreover, he is nationally recognized as a wireless medical technology trailblazer, as well as for his medical expertise.
In fact, in one news clip, NBC News touts him as the nation’s foremost expert in the explosion of wireless medicine. Topol was also selected by GQ Magazine in 2009 as one of the nation’s 12 “Rock Stars of Science.” (more…)
Feb 8, 2013 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers should fundamentally change how cancer specimens are handled
Three physicians at Scripps Health are calling for pathologists to rethink how they collect and store cancer tissue samples in two significant ways. They say that pathologists need to: 1) move away from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue blocks and toward frozen samples; and, 2) start collecting larger samples.
These doctors used the Journal of the American Medical Association as a platform to issue their call for a change in what has been a long-standing standard of practice in anatomic pathology. Given the progressive nature of these opinions, there will certainly be dissenting voices within the pathology profession who are likely to add their voices to this debate.
(more…)
