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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CDC Reports that Hospital Improvement Programs Cut ICU Infection Rate by 58%

Clinical pathology laboratory testing played a role in reducing rate of ICU infections

Here’s a big win for improved patient outcomes, and clinical labs and pathologists played a significant role in this achievement. Central line-associated blood stream infections (CLABSI) in ICUs decreased in number by a whopping 58% from 2001 to 2009, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Some healthcare experts attribute this significant reduction in ICU infections to greater transparency in outcomes data. The CDC’s report, released on March 1, 2011, covered the period from 2001 through 2009. The CDC said that, in 2001, 43,000 ICU patients experienced what today is called a hospital acquired infection (HAI). But by 2009, that number had dropped to 18,000!

The CDC calculates that, thanks to hospital diligence and participation in programs designed to reduce HAIs, at least $1.8 billion and 27,000 lives were saved between 2001 and 2009. However, the CDC noted that other areas of healthcare did not show similar improvements in patient outcomes. (more…)

Social Networking Can Help Clinical Labs Recruit More and Better Medical Technologists

Only two lab companies in the United States currently tap social networking to meet their med tech staffing needs


Everyone in the clinical laboratory testing industry knows that there is an acute shortage of medical technologists (MTs) and clinical laboratory scientists (CLSs). But laboratory professionals may be astonished to learn that their MT recruiting programs consistently fail to hire adequate numbers of MTs and CLSs because they nearly always advertise and recruit in the wrong places!

This is one of the best-kept secrets in med tech recruiting. That’s the opinion of Peggy McKee, CEO and Recruiter of PHC Consulting in Celina, Texas. She’s got surprising advice for clinical lab managers who struggle to recruit and retain enough med techs to keep their lab fully staffed at authorized levels.

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Immunoassay and Infectious Disease Analyzers Evaluated during Use by Clinical Pathology Laboratories

Industrial engineering firm issues “Consumer Report”-type assessment of mid-volume, automated IA and ID analyzer systems


It’s not often that pathologists and clinical laboratory managers can access a Consumer Reports-type of comparison of laboratory analyzers as they prepare to purchase new diagnostic systems. In the case of mid-volume analyzers for immunoassy (IA) and infectious disease (ID) testing, such a report is now available—and it is immediately available on the Web.

The report is titled “Using Quality Management Methods to Compare Competing Mid-Volume Segment Immunoassay Systems that Perform Infectious Disease Testing.”  This report can be immediately downloaded and viewed by visiting the darkdaily.com web site.

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Europe’s 10 Largest Acute Care Hospitals Have Sizeable Clinical Pathology Laboratories

With up to 3,500 beds, these are long-established and respected hospitals

When Dark Daily recently published a list of the Top Ten Largest Health Care Systems  in the United States, not only was it a popular topic, but many readers asked us to present a similar list for European hospitals. Dark Daily is glad to oblige and presents below a list of the Top Ten Largest Hospitals in Europe, ranked on bed size.

Probably the most interesting point about this list is that every hospital on this list of the Top Ten Largest Hospitals in Europe has more beds than the single largest hospital in the United States. At 1,550 beds, Jackson Memorial Hospital, in Miami, Florida, is generally recognized as the largest hospital in the United States, based on number of beds.

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New Healthcare Law Cuts Clinical Laboratory Test Fee Schedule by 1.75% Through 2015

But ACLA’s Alan Mertz says clinical pathology test volume may increase because of other elements of this comprehensive makeover of the nation’s health system

Two provisions in the new healthcare legislation signed into law on March 23 by President Obama will have a direct effect on clinical laboratories, said Alan Mertz, President of the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA). One provision is an across-the-board 1.75% cut to the clinical lab fee schedule in each of the next five years, effective in 2011.

The second provision directly impacting clinical laboratories is called the productivity adjustment and may also lead to a drop in the annual update for clinical laboratory testing. However, Mertz believes that other provisions in the act may prove positive for clinical labs in the coming years. Mertz made these remarks during a conference call late last month.

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