Dark Daily

Researchers at Washington University in St. ...

Wed, 03 Mar 2021 09:19:00 GMT

Painless technology could one day replace some phlebotomy blood draws as the go-to specimen-collection method for clinical laboratory testing and health monitoring Clinical laboratories have long sought a non-invasive way to do useful medical laboratory testing without the need for either a venipuncture or a needle stick. Now engineers at the McKelvey School of Engineering […]

The post Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis Use Microneedle Patch with Fluorescent Nanolabels to Detect Biomarkers in Skin’s Interstitial Fluid appeared first on Dark Daily.

In Australia, Pathology Profession Receives Recognition for Performing 12 Million COVID-19 ...

Mon, 01 Mar 2021 11:00:00 GMT

Royal College of Pathologists of Australia says the pandemic is ‘suppressed’ to ‘intermittent’ outbreaks, thanks to the dedication of thousands of pathologists, medical scientists, and laboratory professionals COVID-19 efforts in Australia have achieved a milestone. Pathology laboratories there have performed more than 12 million SARS-CoV-2 tests since the pandemic began. That is an impressive feat […]

The post In Australia, Pathology Profession Receives Recognition for Performing 12 Million COVID-19 Tests, Equal to About Half the Country’s Population appeared first on Dark Daily.

University of Washington Scientists Create ‘Smellicopter’ Drone That Uses a Live Moth ...

Fri, 26 Feb 2021 10:48:00 GMT

The palm-sized device could one day be engineered to track down explosives and gas leaks or could even be used by medical laboratories to detect disease Here’s a technology breakthrough with many implications for diagnostics and clinical laboratory testing. Researchers at the at the University of Washington (UW) are pushing the envelope on what can […]

The post University of Washington Scientists Create ‘Smellicopter’ Drone That Uses a Live Moth Antenna to Hunt Down Odors appeared first on Dark Daily.

New Study from UCSD Shows That Chromosome Shattering Can Promote Cancer Cell Growth and ...

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 09:44:00 GMT

The researchers also found that certain molecules, when added to cancer drugs, can prevent chromosome shattering from occurring in a discovery that may be useful to pathologists and oncologists Anatomic pathologists who diagnose tissue and closely monitor advances in cancer diagnostics and therapy will be interested in a recent study into how a mutational process […]

The post New Study from UCSD Shows That Chromosome Shattering Can Promote Cancer Cell Growth and Increase Resistance to Chemotherapeutic Drugs appeared first on Dark Daily.

Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes Trial Delayed Again, This Time Due to COVID-19 Restrictions, as ...

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 10:11:00 GMT

Government prosecutors allege destruction of LIS database and point to Holmes’ extravagant lifestyle as evidence of fraud motive There is a new twist in the federal criminal fraud trial of Elizabeth Holmes, co-founder and former CEO of now defunct clinical laboratory testing company Theranos. Once again, the trial has been delayed. In the meantime, however, […]

The post Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes Trial Delayed Again, This Time Due to COVID-19 Restrictions, as Lawyers Battle Over Destroyed Clinical Laboratory Test Evidence appeared first on Dark Daily.

New Study Shows Protective Immunity Against COVID-19 Is ‘Robust’ and May Last Up to Eight ...

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 09:56:00 GMT

Researchers find declining antibody levels in SARS-CoV-2 patients are offset by T cells and B cells that remain behind to fight off reinfection Questions remain regarding how long antibodies produced by a COVID-19 vaccine or natural infection will provide ongoing protection against SARS-CoV-2. However, a new study showing COVID-19 immunity may be “robust” and “long […]

The post New Study Shows Protective Immunity Against COVID-19 Is ‘Robust’ and May Last Up to Eight Months or Longer Following Infection appeared first on Dark Daily.

Researchers in Five Countries Use AI, Deep Learning to Analyze and Monitor the Quality of ...

Wed, 17 Feb 2021 10:58:58 GMT

By training a computer to analyze blood samples, and then automating the expert assessment process, the AI processed months’ worth of blood samples in a single day New technologies and techniques for acquiring and transporting biological samples for clinical laboratory testing receive much attention. But what of the quality of the samples themselves? Blood products […]

The post Researchers in Five Countries Use AI, Deep Learning to Analyze and Monitor the Quality of Donated Red Blood Cells Stored for Transfusions appeared first on Dark Daily.

CMS’ Latest Value-Based Care Reimbursement Model Explores Geographic Direct Contracting for ...

Fri, 12 Feb 2021 10:25:42 GMT

Physicians engaged with CMS in value-based care are asking clinical laboratories to help them close gaps in patient care through testing Clinical laboratories know that any change to how the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reimburses healthcare providers could also affect how labs are reimbursed for services they provide. Thus, lab leaders […]

The post CMS’ Latest Value-Based Care Reimbursement Model Explores Geographic Direct Contracting for Medicare, Focuses on Costs and Quality appeared first on Dark Daily.

University of Kansas Health System Laboratory Shares Lessons from Assessing Pooled Testing for ...

Wed, 10 Feb 2021 10:13:29 GMT

Available funds and disease prevalence affect whether pooled testing is feasible and desirable, notes KU Med microbiology laboratory director Pooled testing for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has its supporters and its critics. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to pooling multiple patients’ biological samples into a single COVID-19 test in the hopes that the result […]

The post University of Kansas Health System Laboratory Shares Lessons from Assessing Pooled Testing for COVID-19 Patients appeared first on Dark Daily.

ASCP and CAP Support New Legislation That Bars Surprise Medical Billing

Mon, 08 Feb 2021 10:02:00 GMT

The No Surprises Act, passed as part of the COVID-19 relief package, ensures patients do not receive surprise bills after out-of-network care, including hospital-based physicians such as pathologists Consumer demand for price transparency in healthcare has been gaining support in Congress after several high-profile cases involving surprise medical billing received widespread reporting. Dark Daily covered […]

The post ASCP and CAP Support New Legislation That Bars Surprise Medical Billing appeared first on Dark Daily.

VA’s ‘Million Veterans Program’ Research Study Receives Its 100,000th Human Genome Sequence

Fri, 05 Feb 2021 08:05:00 GMT

With improved genetic sequencing comes larger human genome databases that could lead to new diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers for clinical laboratories As the COVID-19 pandemic grabbed headlines, the human genome database at the US Department of Veterans Affairs Million Veterans Program (MVP) quietly grew. Now, this wealth of genomic information—as well as data from other […]

The post VA’s ‘Million Veterans Program’ Research Study Receives Its 100,000th Human Genome Sequence appeared first on Dark Daily.

Anticipated Influenza/SARS-CoV-2 "Twindemic” Has Not Developed, Says CDC, Much to the ...

Wed, 03 Feb 2021 08:37:29 GMT

The remarkably low number of influenza diagnoses makes it possible for clinical laboratories to stay focused on COVID-19 One positive note for clinical laboratories this winter is the fact that the number of biological samples being submitted for influenza (flu) testing have dropped significantly. This has given medical laboratories more resources for processing COVID-19 tests. […]

The post Anticipated Influenza/SARS-CoV-2 “Twindemic” Has Not Developed, Says CDC, Much to the Relief of the Nation’s Medical Laboratories appeared first on Dark Daily.

Do New Strains of SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus and Inconsistent Distribution of COVID-19 Vaccines ...

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 10:36:52 GMT

The latest McKinsey report addresses when the COVID-19 pandemic is “most likely” to end and what needs to happen to get there Clinical laboratory leaders, pathologists, and diagnostics professionals everywhere want to know when the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus will burn itself out. When can we expect to return to normal? Since there is no such thing […]

The post Do New Strains of SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus and Inconsistent Distribution of COVID-19 Vaccines Threaten a Return to Normalcy in 2021? McKinsey Weighs In appeared first on Dark Daily.

New Test Under Development That Detects Breast Cancer within One Hour with 100% Accuracy Has ...

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 09:54:56 GMT

Such a test, if proved safe and accurate for clinical use, could be a useful diagnostic tool for anatomic pathologists What would it mean to anatomic pathology if breast cancer could be diagnosed in an hour from a fine needle aspiration (FNA) rather than a core biopsy? A new test created by researchers affiliated with […]

The post New Test Under Development That Detects Breast Cancer within One Hour with 100% Accuracy Has Potential to Help Pathologists Deliver More Value appeared first on Dark Daily.

Autopsies Clearly Help Pathologists Understand COVID-19 and How It Affects the Body, So Why Are ...

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 10:38:30 GMT

Payers are unwilling to reimburse for autopsies despite the fact that autopsies are a proven way to learn more about new diseases and how they attack the human body Each year, less money is spent by Medicare and private health insurers on autopsies. However, autopsies regularly provide pathologists with relevant, clinically useful information about exact […]

The post Autopsies Clearly Help Pathologists Understand COVID-19 and How It Affects the Body, So Why Are More Not Being Performed? appeared first on Dark Daily.

Coveted Blue Horseshoe Crab Blood is Keeping COVID-19 Vaccinations Free of Deadly Endotoxins, ...

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 08:47:00 GMT

Pathologists may be interested to learn that though a substitute for horseshoe crab blood has been available for nearly 20 years, it has not been widely adopted in the US Since the 1970s, the blue blood of the horseshoe crab has saved countless human lives by detecting deadly toxins in medical products, as well as […]

The post Coveted Blue Horseshoe Crab Blood is Keeping COVID-19 Vaccinations Free of Deadly Endotoxins, But Demand for This Blood Could Have Implications for Supply of Certain Clinical Laboratory Tests appeared first on Dark Daily.

Walmart Health Opens Two Primary Care Clinics at Retail Supercenters in Chicago with Plans to ...

Fri, 22 Jan 2021 10:10:00 GMT

Walmart may be the largest, but it is not the only retailer offering clinical laboratory testing and primary care services at conveniently-located retail stores Earlier this month in “How Walmart Plans to Take Over Health Care,” CNBC asked, “Is Walmart the future of healthcare?” Good question. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Walmart (NYSE:WMT) […]

The post Walmart Health Opens Two Primary Care Clinics at Retail Supercenters in Chicago with Plans to Open Seven Florida Locations in 2021 appeared first on Dark Daily.

Multiple Pathology and Other Healthcare Organizations Request CDC Include Clinical Laboratory ...

Wed, 20 Jan 2021 10:42:17 GMT

CAP president maintains medical laboratory staff are ‘indispensable’ in pandemic fight and should be in ‘top tier’ for vaccination As COVID-19 vaccinations continue to roll out, the College of American Pathologists (CAP) is lobbying for clinical pathologists and medical laboratory staff to be moved up the priority list for vaccinations, stating they are “indispensable” in […]

The post Multiple Pathology and Other Healthcare Organizations Request CDC Include Clinical Laboratory Personnel in First Round of COVID-19 Vaccinations appeared first on Dark Daily.

Mayo Clinic Laboratories Used Ingenuity, Flexibility, and Teamwork to Fast-Track COVID-19 ...

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 09:44:47 GMT

As coronavirus pandemic emerged, the Minnesota reference laboratory surged its testing capacity from 2,600 to 20,000 samples per day in an effort to meet ever-increasing demand Over the past several years, medical laboratory workforce shortages worldwide have challenged clinical laboratory managers to process increasing numbers of clinical laboratory tests with fewer staff. But that did […]

The post Mayo Clinic Laboratories Used Ingenuity, Flexibility, and Teamwork to Fast-Track COVID-19 Testing Capacity, Including Hiring Hundreds of Lab Workers appeared first on Dark Daily.

Connecticut and Maine to Utilize ‘Episode of Care’ Payment Models for State Employees and ...

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 12:00:30 GMT

Also called a ‘bundled payment’ model, under this plan, hospitals and clinical laboratories will receive ‘lump sums’ for certain healthcare procedures Employers and insurers continue to move healthcare providers away from fee-for-service (FFS) payment models and toward value-based reimbursement arrangements, also called Pay for Performance or bundled-payment models. While intended to save money, such payment […]

The post Connecticut and Maine to Utilize ‘Episode of Care’ Payment Models for State Employees and Retirees appeared first on Dark Daily.