WHO COULD HAVE IMAGINED, JUST A FEW YEARS AGO, that social networking sites such as Facebook.com, MySpace.com, and YouTube.com would become a useful platform that allows clinical laboratories, pathology groups, and in vitro diagnostics (IVD) companies to engage in two-way conversations with patients and customers?

After all, in those days, the preponderance of active users of these social networking services were young people. There were no obvious business reasons why a clinical laboratory might want to establish its own page on any of these sites. If that was the popular wisdom then, it is not accurate today.

In my neighborhood, even the retired ladies now maintain Facebook or MySpace pages and regularly communicate with each other via this medium. Of course, since elderly folks tend to have a variety of health problems, there is plenty of conversation taking place about these topics. I suspect that is why certain lab companies, like Myriad Genetics with its predictive genetic test for breast cancer, have established a presence on these social networking sites and find themuseful for communicating with women concerned about breast cancer.

On pages 3-6, THE DARK REPORT provides the lab industry's first briefing about why IVD companies and certain clinical laboratories are consciously incorporating social networking activities into their marketing and business development programs. I suspect it will surprise many pathologists and lab managers at how rapidly social networking has become a useful conduit for organizations to directly conduct two-way conversations with patients, customers, and prospects.

In fact, it might be smart for clinical labs and pathology groups to invite their Generation Y pathologists and medical technologists to enlighten the marketing and sales teams at their labs about how social networking works. An even bolder move would be to empower themost enthusiastic of these Gen Y laboratory professionals to help design social networking programs in tandem with the lab's sales and marketing team.

By way of full disclosure, this aging curmudgeon acknowledges that he doesn't surf such social networking sites as FaceBook.com and MySpace.com. However, he has learned that he can go to YouTube.com and easily find entertaining clips of musical performers popular during his youth. With just a couple of mouse clicks, performances by Mitch Miller and Patti Page can be accessed!

Social Networking Is New Laboratory Marketing Channel

Clinical labs and IVD companies encourage customer dialogue at Facebook, YouTube, Twitter

CEO SUMMARY: Using social marketing sites on the Web allows labs and IVD manufacturers to interact with customers in ways that were not possible years ago. Marketers use these interactive web sites to supplement traditional methods of advertising. Inviting customers to discuss your company and products on a Facebook site can result in powerful word-ofmouth testimonials. But proceed with caution! Negative comments about your company or laboratory can pop up as well.

Pre-authorization Coming For Pricey Molecular Tests

Health insurers ready to control utilization of expensive genetic and molecular tests

CEO SUMMARY: In response to the steep ramp-up in the utilization of genetic and molecular testing, the nation's largest health insurers are preparing to institute new guidelines for coverage and reimbursement. These will include pre-authorization by physicians, a more effective genetic test coding arrangement for claims submission by laboratories, and implementation of evidence-based medicine (EBM) guidelines. All of these developments create opportunities for clinical laboratories to step up and add value in new ways to payers.

ISO 15189 Accreditation Requires Specific Steps For Global Recognition

CEO SUMMARY: This intelligence briefing is the third in an ongoing series about quality management systems (QMS) and their role in advancing the performance of clinical laboratories and improving the quality of the testing services they provide. ISO 15189 is a set of standards for medical laboratories based on the ISO 9001 quality management system. It provides a way for medical laboratories to demonstrate to outside examiners both conformance to the QMS and competence in the performance of laboratory testing services.

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