Jan 6, 2016 | Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Management & Operations
Tableau Software, IBM, Apple and others are building a future where analysis of clinical data guides personalized medicine, fuels research, and helps reduce healthcare costs
Use of big data in healthcare is poised to become a big business. That’s because new players in data analytics have begun to help providers and accountable care organizations (ACOs) effectively use data to improve their business operations, personalize care for patients, and/or discover new medical insights.
Because more than 70% of a typical patient’s permanent medical record consists of clinical laboratory laboratory test data, pathologists and medical laboratory scientists have a stake in the growth of big-data analytics, which are a core component in healthcare’s journey toward personalized medicine. (more…)
May 26, 2015 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, Management & Operations
With patient care shifting to outpatient clinics and home-based medical care, clinical laboratory managers should beef up outreach lab testing services
Declining patient volume is shuttering hospitals across the United States as hospitals lose patients to ambulatory care centers and home-based medical care. This trend directly impacts the pathologists and medical technologists who work in the clinical laboratories of these hospitals.
Empty Beds Indicator of Failing Hospitals
Most pathologists are unaware that, between 2008 and 2013, nearly 130 community hospitals closed. That left 4,974 hospitals operating in the United States, according to American Hospital Association (AHA) 2015 Hospital Statistics, which are based on data from the 2013 AHA Annual Survey.
It is no surprise that below-average occupancy rates are a common denominator of most failed hospital, noted the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). The 14 hospitals that closed in 2013 had an average occupancy rate of 34%. This is lower than the 48% average occupancy rate of the hospital nearest to the closing hospital, MedPAC stated in its March 2015 report to Congress. (more…)
Sep 17, 2014 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Health systems using big data in this manner include Carolinas Healthcare System and UPMC Health
Big data is all the rage in healthcare these days. However, one interesting development in this field is how hospitals are integrating consumer data with clinical data to identify patients at high risk. For example, if the post-surgical heart patient buys a package of cigarettes, some hospitals say they want to know.
This is a trend with interesting implications for clinical laboratories. For example, will hospitals using big data in this fashion want to include medical laboratory test results in the mix of information they collect and analyze on their patients? If so, are there ethical issues associated with using such lab test data in this manner? (more…)
Nov 11, 2010 | Digital Pathology, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Second-opinion consults will be handled by UPMC’s sub-specialist pathologists
Here’s a unique anatomic pathology collaboration that crosses international borders and will utilize state-of-the-art digital pathology technology to support subspecialty pathologist consultations between the United States and China.
In recent weeks, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) disclosed that it will provide a range of healthcare services to what is only described as “the largest pathology laboratory in Shanghai.” Of particular interest to pathologists and clinical laboratory managers in the United States, is the fact that pathologists at UPMC will provide second opinion anatomic pathology services to this as-yet-unnamed Chinese pathology laboratory.
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