Even as the House–Senate Conference Committee determines the fate of the 20% co-payment for laboratory tests, our lead story in this issue of The Dark Report looks at the impact of a remarkable study on the quality of healthcare delivered to the average American patient just published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). (See pages 2-4.)

The findings probably don't surprise most of us in laboratory medicine. In a study of 17,000 people, researchers determined that patients fail to get recommended care 45% of the time! That means almost half of all healthcare consumers are not getting the standard of care recognized as appropriate! It was also determined that 11% of patients receive care which is either not recommended for their condition or potentially harmful.

As strategic intelligence of greatest importance, our assessment is that the findings of this RAND Health study will have greater impact upon laboratory medicine than the eventual outcome of the current efforts in Congress to reimpose the 20% co-pay. That's why the briefing about the study on patient care quality leads off this issue.

As you will read, RAND Health researchers did a thorough job of interviewing individuals over the phone, obtaining consent to access their medical records, then evaluating those medical records. Using rigorous methodology, they determined that healthcare providers were giving patients the care recommended for their particular condition only 54.9% of the time!

Our clients and regular readers will understand the ramifications of these findings. Both employers and consumer advocacy groups will use them to justify greater scrutiny of provider quality. It certainly weakens arguments by hospitals and physicians that overall levels of care are acceptable—and the real issue is eliminating medical errors. The findings of this study directly contradict that position.

Moreover, this finding is remarkable for a study that only cost $6.5 million, which is chump change in the world of healthcare consulting and research. I recommend that pathologists and laboratory executives read the NEJM article in full, and include this element in their laboratory's strategic planning.

Boost for Labs: Study Reveals Big Care Gap

Two-year RAND study verifies that 45% of adults fail to receive recommended care

CEO SUMMARY: This research project involved 13,000 patients and a detailed review of medical records. The startling conclusion: the health system provides proper diagnosis and treatment only 55% of the time! Because of the study's depth, it provides a compelling argument that the nation's providers have plenty of room for improvement. This bodes well for diagnostic testing and its role in high-quality care.

HHS Plans to Encourage National EMR System

CAP's SNOMED licensed to supplement IOM's effort to standardize patient record

CEO SUMMARY: Last week, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced two major steps toward the universal electronic health record. One project involves the licensing of CAP's SNOMED CT system to make it available to all healthcare providers in the United States. The second project is a commission to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to design a standardized model of an electronic health record.

GE Medical Systems To Buy Triple G Systems Group

Lab Info Systems Update

Acquisition is a step toward GE's vision of a comprehensive clinical info system

Online Distance Training Helps Labs Recruit and Retain More MTs

Early-Adopter Laboratories Pursue This Innovative Solution

CEO SUMMARY: One surprise about online distance learning (ODL) programs for medical technologists (MT) is that even small hospital laboratories can use them to recruit and train more MTs. Across the US, a growing number of labs are experiencing a shortage of MTs in their local community. A handful of early-adopter laboratories has already recognized the benefits of online distance training as a way to develop more MTs to work in their labs. In this exclusive briefing, small and large laboratories report on their experience at using ODL MT training. Without reservation, they consider it a valuable management tool they recommend to other laboratories.

New York Labs Fight Medicare 20% Co-Pay

Medicare patients respond to educational inserts sent with lab bills and call their Congressman

CEO SUMMARY: Participating laboratories in the New York State Clinical Laboratory Association (NYSCLA) generated a flood of calls to their state's congressional delegation in recent weeks. Included in their bill for lab testing, patients got a flyer telling them about pending legislation that would impose a 20% Medicare lab test co-pay and asking that they call their congressional representative to voice opposition.

INTELLIGENCE:

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