Feb 4, 2013 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Telemedicine allows U.S. pathologists and other specialists to boost revenue by consulting with international partners.
Pathology laboratories in the United States are among the first adopters of a trend toward international telemedicine.
Pathologists working at a handful of well-known healthcare organizations here in the United States are forming partnerships with other hospitals and health systems worldwide, particularly in China. (more…)
Dec 23, 2011 | Digital Pathology, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Oklahoma’s public services commission seeks limits on free bandwidth to rural non-profit hospitals
Rapid expansion in the use of telemedicine, telepathology, and similar digital data applications is creating an unexpected problem. The cost of the bandwidth required to support these services is growing at an equally fast pace!
In Oklahoma, the increased cost of supporting telemedicine services is busting the budget of the state’s decade-old Universal Service Fund (OKUSF). That is causing regulatory bodies and the Oklahoma state legislature to look for solutions to this growing problem. For example, The Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC), which regulates public service corporations in that state, is seeking to limit the amount of free bandwidth available to rural non-profit hospitals under existing state law.
Medical laboratory testing is contributing to the higher spending on telemedicine services by Oklahoma’s USF. Chris Herbison, who is a Public Utility Regulatory Analyst at the OCC, told Oklahoma lawmakers during a hearing on this issue that the change in the size of telemedicine files has been dramatic. There has been a significant increase in the size of both medical reports and clinical laboratory reports. Similarly, whereas it once was basic X-rays, now it is MRIs and other types imaging files. All of these larger data files require more broadband capacity. (more…)
Jul 2, 2010 | Digital Pathology, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
More Physicians Using Smart Phones to Access Lab Test Results and Other Clinical Information
With the advent of data-capable smart phones, disease management is taking a giant step forward. That has important implications for pathologists and clinical laboratory manager, who need to ensure that their medical laboratory information systems are ready for access by smart phones and other wireless devices used by clinicians.
Recent surveys show that physicians increasingly use their smart phones and other mobile devices to view test results and communicate with patients. In fact, in a recent report, Manhattan Research predicted that, by 2012, about 82% of physicians will have smart phones and more than half that number will use them for such tasks as administrative work, continuing medical education, and patient care.
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