Quietly, without much fanfare, a growing number of laboratory administrators and pathologists are taking action to increase the supply of med techs in their community. It's the unpublicized response to the headlines about the impending mass retirement of baby-boomer MTs and MLTs.

This is a noteworthy story and The Dark Report is proud, once again, to be first to provide useful intelligence about an emerging trend, along with effective management strategies you can use in your own lab to address this same problem. We've devoted most of this issue to the strategic initiatives lab administrators are using to recruit and train more med techs for their lab and their community.

There's been plenty of publicity about the growing shortage of med techs. The situation facing Intermountain Healthcare of Utah is typical. It operates 21 hospitals in Utah and Idaho. Recently its Director of Laboratories, Steve Miller, told our editor that 25% of his existing laboratory techs are eligible for retirement over the next five years. Meanwhile, even if Intermountain could successfully recruit and hire 100% of graduating med techs in Utah each year, it would only fill 25% of those vacancies as they occurred. This situation is typical. Many other lab directors tell The Dark Report they face a similar situation in their laboratory.

On page five, you will read about some interesting reasons behind the drop-off in annual med tech certifications. We also bring you two stories about labs like yours. In both cases, lab administrators made their case to hospital CEOs and obtained substantial funding and other resources to help recruit and train med techs. These two stories are representative of others that we hear about daily. Both successes, in Eugene, Oregon and San Francisco, California, demonstrate that hospital CEOs will provide adequate funds to help resolve the problem—but only if lab directors do their homework first and provide detailed information about the management steps and budgets required to increase the supply of med techs.

I'd like to add another important observation. The Eugene and San Francisco stories are not exceptional. Similar efforts are underway in almost every city. It is an example of free market economics at work. Individual labs are taking steps to expand the supply of med techs in their community. Collectively, these actions will bear fruit long before policy-makers and legislators get around to tackling the problem.

New Efforts to Boost Supply of MTs & MLTs

Lab administrators begin taking active steps to recruit and train new prospects

CEO SUMMARY: Most laboratorians are acutely aware that the nation's pool of trained medical technicians and medical technologists is shrinking even as growing numbers of baby-boomer lab techs approach retirement. Meanwhile, training programs are feeding inadequate numbers of new med techs into the system. To rectify this situation, lab directors are actively working to bring"new blood" into the profession.

Understanding Demographics Of Med Tech Labor Supply

Med Tech Demographics

San Fran Bay Hospitals Jointly Fund MT Training

15 hospitals collaborate with funding and resources to train more MTs/ MLTs

CEO SUMMARY: Laboratory administrators in 15 Bay-area hospitals created their own plan to expand the available pool of trained med techs. Using a detailed analysis of the demographics of the problem, along with a financial analysis of non-action, they convinced CEOs of 15 hospitals to invest $1.5 million in a five-year training program.

ARUP & Mayo Respond To New Market Cycle

Market for hospital send-out testing evolving in response to key events

CEO SUMMARY: Since the beginning of 2002, several important events changed the competitive status quo among the nation's leading providers of hospital send-out testing. As part of its ongoing assessment of this market segment, The Dark Report provides strategic management insights from executives at ARUP Laboratories and Mayo Medical Laboratories.

Dark Index: Quest & LabCorp Encounter Different Business Hurdles

Nations' top dogs in physician's office testing struggle with unexpected developments

CEO SUMMARY: Predictions are that 30% of large corporations will offer disease management programs for their employees by the end of next year. Disease management seems to be the next form of managed care, where prevention and early detection are the primary goals. Laboratories should be alert for opportunities to add value to these programs.

INTELLIGENCE:

ManageD Care Creates Big Drop In Hospital Admissions Between 1985-2000

Comings & Goings: