Sep 23, 2010 | Laboratory Pathology, News From Dark Daily
Some U.S. laboratories already ramping up their LIS resources to meet demand for LIS-to-EMR interfaces
Clinical laboratory managers and pathology groups need to prepare for what is expected to be a tsunami of requests by physicians who want their newly-implemented electronic medical record (EMR) systems to be interfaced with their laboratory’s LIS. This approaching tsunami is a consequence of the billions in federal incentive payments designed to encourage doctors to adopt EMRs.
It means lab managers and pathologists must actively prepare their medical laboratory to step up and support the “meaningful use” needs of client physicians. As mandated by the HITECH Act, healthcare providers are required to engage in “meaningful” patient health information (PHI) exchanges. Because more than 400,000 physicians will implement electronic medical records (EMR) in the next 60 months, labs should not delay in establishing a strategy.
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Sep 9, 2010 | Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Special clinical laboratory manager training to take place in four cities this fall
Predictions are that clinical laboratories and pathology groups across the nation will face a growing and serious shortage of skilled managers during the next 24 months. There are two primary reasons why this acute shortage of capable lab managers is soon to develop.
First, the oldest baby boomers turn 65 in January and the long-awaited wave of retirements will begin. This means the most experienced staff members in the medical laboratory—managers at the bench level, the section, and the department—will vacate those positions of responsibility. As these managers depart, the lab loses their decades of experience, along with their invaluable organizational knowledge.
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Aug 6, 2010 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Super Religare Laboratories Acquires Piramal Diagnostic Services in $129 million deal
Pathology and clinical laboratory testing in India is poised to undergo ongoing consolidation as the pace of merger & acquisition activity increases. One sign of this trend is last month’s acquisition of the pathology business of Piramal Healthcare Limited by Super Religare Laboratories Limited (SRL).
In a deal valued at US$129 million, Super Religare Laboratories purchased Piramal’s pathology and radiology diagnostic services subsidiary, called Piramal Diagnostic Services Private Limited. Announced on July 14, 2010, Super Religare Laboratories said this acquisition will give it one of India’s largest pathology and clinical laboratory testing networks.
After combining the two businesses, Super Religare will operate 185 laboratories. It will have 1,500 patient collection centers that serve 12 million patients per year. Further acquisitions are planned by SRL.
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Jul 6, 2010 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology
McKesson Corp. and MuirLab working to implement lab-friendly strategies to meet payer needs
Unfolding events make it likely that genetic testing will become a good news/bad news story for local clinical laboratories and pathology groups. The good news is that genetic tests and molecular assays will bring more diagnostic precision to patients and their physicians—and that points to an auspicious future for pathology and laboratory medicine.
The bad news is that payer requirements in the United States for pre-authorization of genetic tests may lock-out most local laboratories as providers for these specialized and important clinical laboratory tests. That’s the irony of this developing trend!
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Jun 22, 2010 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, News From Dark Daily
Lab-savvy lawyers tackle overlooked issues involving non-compete covenants, protection of client lists, and effective partnership agreements
Unbeknownst to many owners of clinical laboratories and pathology groups, several developments have created new risks for the most important business assets of these organizations. Experts involved in legal and financial consulting for laboratories advise their clients to take definitive steps to prevent direct loss or any significant erosion in the value of these valuable business assets.
Too often, laboratory owners and the pathologist-partners of group practices find the value of their business needlessly reduced because they failed to take simple—but necessary—actions to fully protect their assets. That is not surprising, because many of a laboratory’s highest-value assets are represented by contracts with employees and partners, agreements on trade secrets, non-compete covenants with executives and sales representatives, and even something as basic as employee handbooks.
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