"Hematological malignancies are complex, heterogeneous disorders involving multiple recurrent somatic and germline mutations. For acute hematological malignancies, early diagnosis and personalized disease management remain serious challenges. Moreover, there is a growing need for reliable and timely detection of minimal residual disease (MRD) to improve overall clinical management for patients. Genomic biomarkers can provide valuable information to support these needs; however, current biomarker testing algorithms can involve multiple different modalities—often requiring laborious serial processes and time-consuming workflows. These challenges are further exacerbated by the growing number of biomarkers associated with hematological malignancies.

In recent years, next-generation sequencing (NGS) has emerged as a powerful tool for biomarker testing, owing its ability to rapidly and simultaneously interrogate multiple genomic aberrations from a single sample. This FREE webinar for laboratory leaders, with follow-up Q&A, will demonstrate how this technology can now be easily implemented, making it practical for in-house laboratories to quickly generate comprehensive molecular reports for routine clinical care."

"The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unique challenges across the healthcare industry, leading labs to innovate and expand to meet testing needs. COVID-19 also now calls for labs like yours to implement robust outreach to organizations which find themselves in need of COVID testing. At the same time, your lab also should prepare by increasing its order intake capability with expedited connectivity, so as not to overload IT staff.

In this tough healthcare environment, it’s no longer enough to just connect to your clients as their expectation has become that patients will have a problem-free lab experience, from specimen collection to the receipt of the bill. EMRs are not sophisticated regarding lab ordering and resulting. COVID test results now must be directly reported to government agencies, and in some cases, also to employers. Labs that can fill that gap are the ones physicians want to use, and an effective outreach program can ensure your lab performs as a profit center.

Addressing and simplifying the connectivity challenges presented by COVID-19 ordering, testing, results, and reporting can position your laboratory as the premiere partner for hospitals and physicians during this crisis. Attend this FREE webinar with follow-up Q&A, and learn how your lab can implement the IT solutions it needs to simplify the outreach process and increase market share."

"Clinical laboratories are currently facing multiple challenges—not limited to shrinking budgets, expanding test catalogs, and competitive pressure from corporate labs who are ready to market directly to customers, buy up outreach business, or even the hospital lab itself. And the onset of COVID-19 has only intensified these challenges.

The good news? The demands that face today’s clinical labs have a solution: lab stewardship driven by evidence-based clinical decision support.

Attend this FREE webinar, with follow-up Q&A, and hear from other forward-thinking labs who have used evidence-based clinical decision support to address overutilization, promote medical appropriateness, and demonstrate the value of their lab across the organization, as well to help them drive lab stewardship and align laboratory objectives to their organization’s strategic priorities."

"In today’s healthcare environment, hospital and independent reference labs (IRLs) are seeking new ways to take greater control of their logistics needs. Among the challenges most frequently experienced by labs include: time spent by staff every day researching lost or damaged shipments, accurately planning staff levels without knowing in advance how many daily specimens are going to arrive, communicating proactively with lab customers but not knowing the status of their shipments, scheduling pick-ups at client sites and printing shipping labels—just to name a few.

These and myriad other challenges affect your lab’s ability to run efficiently. To streamline processes and take greater control of your lab’s logistics, you must start by rethinking your approach. Attend this free webinar, with follow-up Q&A, and learn best practices that your lab can implement right away to improve efficiency, lower costs, and focus more on what matters most: the patients your lab serves."

"The arrival of fall each year brings with it flu season. This year, the U.S. influenza season is particularly worrisome as we continue to battle the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. With the peak of flu season spanning several months and possibly into the spring of 2021, clinical laboratories will likely see dramatic upward swings in the number of people who need flu and SARS-CoV-2 testing simultaneously, while at the same time being faced with an acute shortage of tests and testing supplies.

What steps can be taken on a systemic level within the laboratory industry to help manage the potential onslaught of infection and likelihood of increased testing? One promising answer is pooled testing. Pooled testing is one way to use the clinical laboratory’s testing supplies, resources, and efforts wisely, and is receiving significant attention as a method of performing large volumes of clinical laboratory tests while conserving critical testing resources. This testing method was also recognized by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over the summer.

Attend this complimentary webinar, with follow-up Q&A, to learn about the pros and cons of pooled testing and how they must be evaluated when determining if pooled testing is the right solution for meeting your lab’s SARS-CoV-2 and seasonal flu testing demands."

"Data exchange between clinical laboratories and long-term care providers continues to be a challenge. While Meaningful Use (MU) and Promoting Interoperability (PI) programs and incentives support ambulatory providers, similar computerized physician order entry (CPOE) in support of senior care has been lacking, leaving clinical labs and providers with manual workflows, paperwork nightmares, delays, and pent-up demand.

Now, your clinical laboratory is in a position to not only automate and improve workflow, but also provide enhanced support to customers that service the senior and post-acute care segments.

During this complimentary webinar with follow-up Q&A, OpenText, The Information Company, and their partner, PointClickCare, the North American healthcare IT market leader for the LTPAC industry, will share best practices and requirements to improve clinical lab data exchange, turnaround times, and customer support."

"The big story moving into 2021 is the dual regulatory challenges coming to your clinical laboratory or anatomic pathology group. As your lab deals with COVID-19 testing and never-ending government dictates that change from day to day, it must also comply with the usual range of regulatory, compliance, and managed care issues associated with standard […]

"SARS-CoV-2 has been mutating at a rate of about one to two mutations per month. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that multiple variants of the virus are now circulating globally, including P.1 (Brazil), B.1.351 (South Africa), and B.1.1.7 (United Kingdom). What makes the new B.1.1.7. UK variant different is that it seems to have acquired mutations much more quickly than scientists expected, resulting in a reported 70% increase in transmissibility.

The emergence of multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants brings fast-moving questions for clinical laboratory administrators about the ability to identify new potential coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 variants. One of the most notable is how standard COVID-19 testing can be positioned to detect these new variants, particularly now that the S-gene dropout issue has been discovered.

During this complimentary webinar with follow-up Q&A, you will hear about the important clinical implications (epidemiological, prognostic, and predictive) of these “variants of concern,” the importance of early detection of these variants, and the steps your lab can take to confidently detect the COVID-19 virus with a very high degree of specificity and sensitivity, and identify the S-gene dropout."

"Getting paid for genetic test claims continues to be the single biggest challenge for all clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups. In response to the substantial surge in the numbers of new genetic tests—many of which cost thousands of dollars per test—payers are placing tougher restrictions how they accept and pay for genetic test claims.

The good news is that there are pathways forward that savvy genetic testing executives can use to accomplish three different objectives—each of which can increase cash flow and lift the number of genetic test claims that are reimbursed."

"Register now for this important webinar and hear from three experts in genetic testing, followed by a panel discussion that allows you to interact live with the experts to ask questions about your topics of greatest interest."

"The SARS-CoV2 pandemic has had a profound impact on clinical laboratories. Across the globe, labs have been forced to rapidly adapt as the volume and breadth of testing dramatically shifted to support COVID-19 diagnostics. A 50-60% decline in the flow of routine specimens and revenues has been noted as higher value tests were paused or replaced with COVID-related diagnostics.

But with the introduction of vaccines from companies like Pfizer and Moderna, COVID testing at current volumes won’t last forever. As these testing volumes decrease, there’s no guarantee that higher value tests will fill the void at the same rate.

This presents an even larger challenge looming on the horizon: How does your lab begin to prepare itself to succeed in a post-pandemic world?

Start your plan now to navigate the transition by attending this complimentary webinar with follow-up Q&A. Jamie Platt, CEO of BRIDGenomics, joined by Andrew Warren, Senior Associate at Third Rock Ventures and Barry Wark, CEO of Ovation, will share their insights and discuss ways in which your lab’s current testing can create assets for the future—and how you can best position your lab for success in a post-pandemic environment by leveraging your diagnostic data as a strategic asset."

"Laboratory testing is typically the single highest-volume medical activity in a health system and plays a major role in driving clinical decision-making. Laboratory diagnostics are, however, highly variable and filled with opportunities for health systems to increase appropriate testing while reducing waste.

Achieving the aims of higher quality and lower cost depends on the laboratory community taking a central role in improving effective test utilization. Creating successful laboratory stewardship partnerships is critical in today’s healthcare environment and aligns with the essential healthcare pillars of quality, cost, and service.

This free webinar, Strategies for Laboratory Professionals to Drive Lab Stewardship, explores the implementation of laboratory stewardship to increase effective test use, decrease costs, and improve patient care."

"Current molecular testing modalities for blood-related cancers are cumbersome to operate and subsequently generate poor economics—forcing laboratories to batch large samples, resulting in slow turnaround time, or avoid the process entirely and send these tests out. HemeScreen is a novel, proprietary technology that offers an alternative to the existing testing modalities and an opportunity for laboratories to bring tests in-house that have otherwise not been economically viable.

During this complimentary webinar with follow-up Q&A, How a Novel Molecular Screening Technology for Blood-Related Cancers Can Provide Operational and Cost-Effective Benefits to Your Lab, you will learn about the technology, efficient workflow, and profit potential of HemeScreen."

"Attend this 60-minute program, and you will:

* Understand the differences between current technologies used and HemeScreen—and their advantages and disadvantages relative to HemeScreen
* Hear about HemeScreen’s operational impact on the lab in terms of workflow, TAT, and economics
* Learn about HemeScreen’s ease of adoption and implementation into lab workflow
* Understand the clinical effects of HemeScreen to the customer (the treating oncologist)
* Have the opportunity to pose specific questions and connect directly with the panel during a Q&A session"

"The decreasing cost of implementing NGS has many clinical laboratories considering expanding the scope and complexity of their hereditary testing services to include NGS. However, this expansion comes with a significant number of challenges, including setup, panel design, and validation, building for optimum turnaround time, and the need for specialized clinical genetic knowledge and overall scalability.

An effective strategy for selecting and implementing appropriate tertiary analysis tools and setting up a scalable interpretation workflow is critical to the success of a clinical NGS program.

The webinar, Best Practices for Launching Profitable, Efficient NGS Tests for Hereditary Risk, will discuss best practices for how molecular diagnostic labs can quickly and effectively launch NGS hereditary risk genetic testing, including:

* Market trends and considerations
* Laboratory setup and validation, data analysis, and reporting
* Selecting and implementing a tertiary analysis pipeline for variant interpretation"

"In early April 2021, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Thermo Fisher Scientific emergency use authorization for Amplitude Solution, a technology that brings a dynamic, automated, and flexible COVID-19 testing system to labs, enabling testing between 1,000 to 8,000 samples per day with a secured supply chain, minimal laboratory resources and 24/7 dedicated support.

During the July 28, 2021 free webinar, Meeting the Challenges of COVID-19 Testing: A User’s Experience Addressing the Unpredictable Testing Demand of Clinical Laboratories with the Scalable, High-Throughput Amplitude Solution, two medical laboratory leaders from University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, Colorado, will share how they were able to quickly meet the COVID-19 testing demands of their healthcare community through their early adoption of Thermo Fisher’s Amplitude Solution.

Reserve your seat today to hear from the team responsible for the innovative design, development, and delivery of a scalable, automated, high-throughput testing system and supply chain to support the needs of the COVID-19 testing laboratory."

"With innovative testing methodologies now available to them, many clinical laboratories are assessing their current approaches to molecular testing or expanding their existing menu. They may be looking for solutions that can maximize resources and support flexibility, scale, expertise, and the lab’s unique needs. At the same time, in strategizing all services lines, labs are also challenged to realize significant cost savings, while ensuring the ability to evolve, respond, and adapt content, formats, and throughput to their communities’ needs.

The August 25 free webinar, Advancements in UTI Testing: A Multi-omics Approach to Maximizing the Flexibility of Your Molecular Testing Laboratory—sponsored by Thermo Fisher Scientific, in partnership with Pathnostics—will compare the clinical utility of genotypic and phenotypic methods in treatment of UTIs and describe how a multi-omics approach could be implemented in a laboratory. Reserve your seat today to hear from experts speakers David Baunoch, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder of Pathnostics, and Jorge Fonseca, MBA, Product Director of Genetic Testing Solutions, Genetic Sciences Division, Thermo Fisher Scientific."

"The purpose of this webinar is to help pathologists and laboratory management build the tools necessary to convey the vision, explain the rationale, elicit support, ensure organizational buy-in, and secure the required funding for digital transformation of pathology at their institutions."

"Provider silos of the previous decades are giving way to integrated health networks where various providers serve single and sometimes multiple entities. As independent laboratories, hospitals, and health systems enhance their network of providers—including numerous clinical laboratory and anatomic pathology practice partners, or M&A activities—directors and managers must embrace moving from a disjointed data infrastructure system to value-added connectivity.

Connecting multiple order sources, such as physician EMRs or other laboratories and their LIS, into a laboratory network has become a new operational imperative. The core of this call to action is better test routing and sharing and, even more importantly, accelerating clean lab service orders from all order sources. This aims to improve turnaround time, especially in STAT and other urgent situations, improve physician and patient satisfaction, and ensure timely reimbursement for testing.

Where traditional clinical laboratory operations fall short of these types of advanced connectivity goals, the effects are profound, ranging from delays in patient testing on the front end to rejected claims for reimbursement on the back end.

During the free October 6 webinar, Accelerating Lab Order Connectivity for Measurable ROI: Support for Multi-Lab Networks, hosted by Dark Daily and sponsored by Sunquest, will explain the current landscape and growth of clinical laboratory testing networks and what it means for clinical, anatomic, specialized and esoteric testing."

"To help pathologists and pathology practice administrators with their key strategy related questions for adopting digital pathology, a new Dark Daily webinar, scheduled for Thursday, October 7, 2021, at 1 p.m. Eastern, will feature innovative healthcare industry leaders discussing how they made their decisions to adopt digital pathology across key functional areas: primary diagnosis, education, and research.

Registration is free. The webinar will be moderated by Lisa-Jean Clifford, COO and Chief Strategy Officer for Gestalt Diagnostics. Each panelist will share their experience and unique perspective in adopting digital pathology. The live event will include an interactive Q&A session with the experts and cover topics such as using digital pathology in primary diagnosis, their plans for integrating artificial intelligence (AI), serving multiple site locations, and creative ways to leverage digital pathology in support of other areas of operation.

This new 60-minute webinar, hosted by Dark Daily, will provide essential information for anatomic pathologists and pathology practice leaders who are on the verge of evolving their clinical, research and/or educational practices with digital pathology, with both short- and long-term strategies."

"Surprise billing remains a hot topic in Washington. It occurs when patients unknowingly receive either emergency or non-emergency care from an out-of-network provider. The law specifically targets balance billing, when providers attempt to recover the difference between in-network and out-of-network charges not covered by payors.

Recently, the Administration issued the Part II Interim Final Rule with comment period for the No Surprises Act, a bipartisan consumer protection law designed to help curb the practice of surprise medical billing.

This 60-minute webinar will provide a review of the circumstances under which the No Surprises Act is relevant, as well as how and when the Act applies to both independent and hospital outreach laboratories. It will also cover some state-specific rules and real-world examples such as the difference between how an out-of-network claim was handled prior to the No Surprises Act and how it is handled under the rules of the No Surprises Act.

The webinar will also touch on the importance of providers having the capability to provide an accurate estimate of a patient's financial responsibility at the time of service."

"As pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing becomes more familiar for its role in the refinement of treatment(s) to reduce risk of adverse responses and improve efficacy of medications, clinicians, clinical laboratory directors and managers, and pharmacists will have questions about how to work with and scale PGx (and other high-value molecular testing).

One molecular testing laboratory has found success with rapid integration of its software engagement tools for medication therapy management (MTM)—including genotype-guided recommendations for drug selection and dosing—into the EMR of major hospitals.

This webinar, from Dark Daily, brings Jeremy Stuart, PhD, MPH (NRCC), Chief Science Officer and Laboratory Director at Precision Genetics, to describe the development of the software tools that proved essential for the scaling of molecular testing at South Carolina-based Precision Genetics. Stuart will explain how digital integration essential to scaling their COVID-19 testing efforts has positioned the lab to expand operations to deliver effective pharmacogenetic-based guidance to providers in the areas of psychiatry and perioperative medicine."

"Independent and hospital outreach laboratories, diagnostic providers, and molecular and pathology groups have seen a disturbing uptick in claim denials. Working through the appeals process negatively affects revenue, delays accounts receivable (AR), and compromises staff effectiveness. Many denials are winnable. Many denials are preventable.

During this free 60-minute webinar, we will cover the latest trends in denials and appeals; review best practice tactics for achieving successful appeals; and learn the payer policies to keep in mind to maximize your appeals success. We will also discuss how to enhance productivity and optimize the efficiency of the appeals process through automation."

"The Internet of Things (IoT) has established a new system of quality monitoring for lab specimen pickup and drop boxes. This is important as preanalytical errors, supply chain weaknesses, and areas of waste are costly to clinical laboratories.

For example, between 10% and 30% of lab boxes are unknowingly empty when lab couriers make their appointed rounds. The unnecessary costs of nonproductive stops multiply. In addition, little data is known about the time that a lab test specimen spends in hold and in transit, which make up much of the time spent in the pre-analytical phase. Such unknowns introduce variability in sample quality and can compromise specimen integrity.

As part of our ongoing commitment to quality in clinical laboratory testing, Dark Daily will host a new webinar that will be of interest to clinical laboratory leaders pursuing sample/specimen integrity assurance and courier efficiency."

"In September 2021, a CDC report found that hospital-acquired infections have increased significantly in 2020 after years of steady decline. Standard infection prevention practices have been impacted by staffing shortages and chaotic work environments, which has subsequently created an environment that is susceptible for diagnostic errors. These factors indicate a troubling trend working against antimicrobial and diagnostic stewardship efforts.

As a result, hospital and healthcare system leaders are re-focusing their attention on patient safety and quality outcomes—and trying to solve the problems of blood culture contamination, which can lead to a misdiagnosis of sepsis. With those goals in mind, a new webinar from Dark Daily will focus on practical and effective solutions designed to reduce the risk of antibiotic-related infections, antimicrobial resistance, and false-positive blood cultures.

Featuring a case study and live Q&A, the webinar will review the quality improvement (QI) project of a 425-bed academic medical center. We will examine the impact of a 90% reduction in blood culture contamination rates and the direct effect on antimicrobial stewardship efforts which resulted in a 31% reduction in vancomycin days of therapy (DOT)."

"Invisible revenue cycle compliance and performance threats are the largest risks to a healthcare organization’s financial integrity. If undetected, these lead to poor payer relationships, payer recoupments, lower revenue, fines, audits, adverse contractual agreements, and, unfortunately, low industry reputation. The sooner you detect these threats, the less damage they can do.

Thankfully, recent innovations in the healthcare financial space have leveled the playing field in favor of laboratory executives. With the real-world application of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in the medical laboratory revenue cycle, laboratory executives can detect compliance and revenue performance threats in near-real-time, protecting their revenue performance and compliance, all while keeping existing investments in billing systems and revenue cycle management (RCM) partners. This may come as welcome news to laboratory executives who are caught in a costly reactive approach to lab claim denials, rejections, appeals, and other anomalies.

A new complimentary webinar from Dark Daily brings case examples of revenue management improvements gained from AI/ML in diagnostic laboratory billing, including compliance, operational key performance indicators, and actionable executive reporting. The free webinar will feature revenue cycle leaders who have leveraged advanced AI/ML to identify revenue performance and compliance opportunities, while proactively addressing and remediating financial issues that all labs face."

"There’s a dire need to fill clinical laboratory and pathology-related roles from only a small pool of correctly qualified individuals in many instances, according to experts. Several causes underlie the current abundance of open and unfilled medical lab and pathology positions, including credentialing questions and unmet needs in emerging skillsets as a result of the healthcare industry’s steps to modernize and digitalize.

For clinical labs and anatomical and clinical pathology group directors looking to fill open, high-demand positions, it may be time to take action beyond just beefing up salaries. A new webinar, brought to you by Dark Daily, will bring constructive strategies for dealing with the labor shortage problem in the lab industry.

The free, 60-minute webinar (with live Q&A) will feature recruiting and hiring experts from Lighthouse Lab Services, a firm that specializes in recruiting, consulting, and lab development and management for both start-up and existing laboratories."

"Shrinking budgets. Reduced Medicare reimbursement for diagnostic tests. Customer service gaps. Inefficiencies and Staff Shortages. Conquering these (and other) challenges is critical for the financial success of clinical laboratories and pathology practices.

On this webinar you’ll find a proven path to overcoming these obstacles through the principles behind Lean Six Sigma. These methods offer a real world approach to process improvement and better quality of service to patients, physicians, and other customers. Labs that are adopting Lean Six Sigma methods are reaping the benefits.

Attend and see how Lean Six Sigma seeks to eliminate waste in all its forms, removing anything from a process that doesn’t add value, including common activities related to reimbursement, customer service, patient safety, lab test quality, blood collection, and more."

"Advanced diagnostics such as molecular diagnostics (PCR and NGS) are being used to rapidly diagnose infections and contribute to antimicrobial stewardship, the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Part of the challenge is that many laboratory directors and healthcare providers are unaware of how to use these tools appropriately.

Opportunities with advanced diagnostic technologies in the lab are missed which can have a direct impact on patient care. It is therefore vital that laboratory professionals and healthcare providers gain a clear understanding of the history of antimicrobial resistance, the objectives of antimicrobial stewardship, and how the laboratory can use its advanced technology to connect with clinicians for better communication around challenging and difficult infections.

An alarming statistic published by the CDC is that roughly 1 in 3 antibiotics, or 30 percent, shouldn’t have been prescribed in the first place. A new webinar, hosted by Dark Daily, will feature lab learnings gained from the experience of an infectious disease and antimicrobial stewardship medical director. This is an opportunity for clinical laboratory directors and managers to better understand how to work collaboratively with physicians and pathologists to improve their antimicrobial stewardship interventions and protocols."

"Molecular diagnostics leaders face persistent challenges in growing their laboratories’ market share.

Despite the complex nature of molecular diagnostics, ensuring the completion of tests and maximizing reimbursement of claims remain the best mechanisms for increasing revenue.

Several important dynamics can play crucial roles in overcoming these challenges, including increasing physician and patient communication at the time of order, facilitating patient access to diagnostics and timely adherence, proactively setting expectations related to patient financial obligations, and maximizing efficient claims reimbursement with an effective appeals strategy.

This new webinar, hosted by Dark Daily, will deliver practical approaches, process enhancements, and payer strategies essential to growing novel diagnostic market share through proactive, purposeful, and technologically enabled engagements with patients, physicians, and payers."

"Pharmacogenomics (PGx) has immense potential in the routine clinical testing space. However, there are many considerations to PGx adoption and scalability within the laboratory. Clinical laboratory leaders are unaware of their laboratory’s readiness, the stages of PGx implementation maturity, and the strategic steps they should take to expand into PGx.

In this Dark Daily webinar with live Q&A, Jeff Shaman, PhD, MS, Chief Science Officer of Coriell Life Sciences will discuss why pharmacogenomics matters and how the COVID health crisis has created unprecedented capacity and acceptance for PGx in laboratory testing.

Up-and-coming and seasoned lab leaders will learn how laboratory technology, science, implementation models, and economic proof points have all achieved deployable maturity for PGx labs. Most importantly, we will define the stages of PGx laboratory implementation maturity and key success points for expanding your laboratory’s PGx testing capacity."

""The Great Resignation", coupled with unpredictable economic, policy and technology pressures, has left laboratory leaders in hospitals, clinical laboratories, and anatomic pathology groups facing challenges like never before.

High performing lab leaders know leading includes both operational and people skills, and in today’s turbulent times, strengthening their people skills must be a priority to recruit, develop, and retain high-performing teams.

A new complimentary one-hour webinar from Dark Daily and our partner, Fortify Leadership Group, brings three leadership fundamentals that new lab leaders can use to inspire their teams."