Without question, 2017 made for an interesting year. While uncertainty continues to swirl regarding regulations, laboratory leadership is being called upon to remain a harbor in the tempest. (For an excellent take on the reality of PAMA, see Jane Hermansen’s article on page 4). No matter the specific quantification, all health care practitioners are aware of the vital role played by laboratory ... read more

On January 1, 2018, the 2014 Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) went into effect. As a result, nearly every laboratory in the country that performs testing for Medicare beneficiaries will realize a decrease in reimbursement, regardless of laboratory size or type (hospital, independent, or physician office-based). Further, in most states, Medicaid fee schedules are based upon Medicare rates, ... read more

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is a breakthrough technology that renders decoding genetic information easier, faster, and less expensive than conventional methods such as Sanger sequencing. The process enables simultaneous and massively parallel analysis of genetic material from multiple patients across multiple genes in a single run. Whereas in the past few decades, it took several weeks, intensive ... read more

  Since the introduction of computers in health care laboratories in the mid-1960s, laboratory information systems (LIS) have largely fallen under the provision of specialized companies offering what has been commonly referred to as “best-of-breed” (BoB) systems, in that their functionality developed over time to be department specific and optimized to laboratory operations. However, ... read more

Kooltrak Temperature Loggers from Factronics USA are housed in waterproof stainless steel and, hardly larger than a dime, they contain a complete recording system with microcomputer, memory, communications circuitry, temperature sensor, clock, and lithium battery power supply. The wide temperature range, long recording time, and 10-year life make this product an excellent choice for compact, low-cost ... read more