AACC Announces Two Webinars for March 2011

Washington, DC, February 3, 2011    The American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) announces two webinars for March 2011: Integrating Mass Spec in the Clinical Lab: What You Need to Know on March 16 and Reinventing Your Lab Outreach Program: Using Proven Strategies to Grow Your Business on March 30.  Both webinars will starts at 2:00 pm Eastern and last 90 minutes.

For direct measurement of many human health-related analytes, mass spectrometry is an unparalleled lab tool.  Laboratory professionals often describe it as a complimentary method to immunoassay, but no one doubts it has technological advantages over immunoassay for certain applications.  Once employed mainly in pharma and basic science applications, the technology is now an integral part of operations in a growing number of clinical labs.  However, how do laboratories know whether mass spec can contribute to their growth plans?  Which tests are the most likely candidates for migration to mass spec platforms?  How do laboratories get a handle on all of the business issues that go into justifying mass spec?  These and other questions will be addressed by AACC’s expert panel: Robert L. Fitzgerald, PhD, University of California-San Diego and VA Healthcare System (San Diego, CA) and James H. Nichols, PhD, Baystate Health and Tufts University School of Medicine (Springfield, MA).  The webinar will be moderated by James C. Ritchie, PhD, Emory University School of Medicine and Emory University Hospital (Atlanta, GA). 

When opportunities for expanding lab outreach programs present themselves, are laboratories positioned to take advantage of them?  What financial expertise, operational know-how, and information systems are required to reach the goals set for the laboratory’s outreach program?  In the current economy, many might consider it safer to retrench and protect existing business, but is this a wise strategy?  The laboratory outreach business has a number of components that must be managed well if a lab is to successfully grow its business.  During this webinar, the speakers will examine what labs can do to jumpstart their outreach business by examining strategies that can be used to manage finances, training, and sales more effectively.  The webinar will also explain how a mid-sized community hospital lab was able to grow its outreach program to $14 million in net revenue, doubling its volume in four years.  The panel for the webinar is Kathy Murphy, PhD, CEO and Victoria Peterson, Outreach Managing Consultant, both from Chi Solutions Inc. (Ann Arbor, MI), and Matthew J. Palazola, MD, Administrative Director for Clinical-Diagnostic Services, White Plains Hospital Center (White Plains, NY).

AACC invites journalists interested in learning more about either or both of these topics to register for the webinar.  For a complimentary registration, complete and submit a Press Registration Form.  For more information about these events or AACC, contact Peter Patterson on either of the above phone numbers or at ppatterson@aacc.org.

AACC is a leading professional society dedicated to improving healthcare through laboratory medicine. Its over 9,000 members are clinical laboratory professionals, physicians, research scientists, and others involved in developing tests and directing laboratory operations.  AACC brings this community together with programs that advance knowledge, expertise, and innovation.