Dec 28, 2011 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
Veterans Administration calls it a “genomics game changer” and is now building a treasure trove of data for health researchers, including pathologists
Imagine a massive data repository that contains the blood specimens and genetic information of thousands of individuals, along with a detailed medical history for each patient that may reach back as far as 20 years! Such a data repository, long the dream of many pathologists and clinical laboratory scientists, will soon become a reality.
That’s because the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced what it calls the “Million Veteran Program” (MVP). It is actively recruiting one million veterans who are willing to provide a blood specimen. These specimens will become part of a database that contains the full electronic health records (EHR) of millions of veterans.
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Jun 29, 2011 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
These annual rankings show that the nation’s largest healthcare systems continue to grow in revenue and bed count
When it comes to the nation’s largest healthcare systems, it is no surprise that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) tops the list, at least when ranked by annual revenue. That is the finding of a “Top 10” survey of healthcare systems recently published by Modern Healthcare magazine.
This survey is useful to pathologists and clinical laboratory managers because these “Top 10” healthcare system rankings also provide insight as to where the nation’s largest hospital-based laboratory organizations can be found. For example, the VA operates 164 acute-care hospitals. That represents a large volume of clinical laboratory testing for those inpatients.
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Mar 14, 2011 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Efforts to improve transparency still don’t include clinical pathology lab data
Veterans, their family members and their healthcare providers can now go online to compare the performance of their local Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital against other VA hospitals. This new service launched just last year.
That is when the VA opened its Hospital Compare website to the public. This important step is consistent with the VA’s declared intent to achieve total transparency in veteran’s healthcare. Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers will want to check out this website to see how the quality performance of different VA hospitals is presented to patients and the public.
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Feb 16, 2011 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Veterans Administration and Hospitals Taking Steps to Prevent Hacking of Medical Devices and Wireless Systems
Clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups face a growing security threat to the integrity of their analyzers, laboratory information systems (LIS), and other devices used daily by their employees.
This rapidly-developing threat comes from outside hackers who are launching cyber-attacks aimed at the various medical devices and wireless systems that are directly connected to the Internet and are used by hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare providers. These cyber-attacks demonstrate a new vulnerability that clinical laboratories and pathology groups should recognize.
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Jan 31, 2011 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Improved Utilization of Clinical Laboratory Tests Was One Source of Significant Savings
Investment in health informatics saved the Veterans Administration (VA) more than $3 billion during the past 10 years. This was the finding of a newly-published study in Health Affairs. It is likely to have positive implications for how use of information technology (IT) improves utilization of clinical pathology laboratory tests.
Titled “The Value from Investments in Health Information Technology at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs,” the study was undertaken by the Center for Information Technology Leadership. This is a Charlestown, Massachusetts-based research organization.
During the period of the study, the VA spent more than $4 billion on health information technology. As a result of that HIT investment, the VA realized total savings amounting to $7 billion. After subtracting the expense of the HIT investment, there was a net savings of $3 billion for the VA during the 10 years covered by the study.
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