Courtesy of Software Advice.  Encourage to take the survey and share in the results.

According to an August 3 report from Robert Tagalicod, the new director of CMS Office of e-Health Standards and Services, 2,383 eligible providers have successfully attested for the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) – or electronic medical record (EMR) – Incentive Program. One hundred hospitals have also attested.

This is great news. But what impact is technology having on the quality of care? Are physicians benefiting from all the improvements that EMR software promises to deliver?

We want to hear from you. We’re hosting a quick, 20-question survey about the advantages of electronic medical records. What kind of impact is EMR technology having on your practice? Are you realizing productivity and financial benefits? Quality of care improvements?

Let us know. We’ll publish the results back here in two weeks.

Read more: http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/medical/benefits-of-emr-software-survey-1081611/#ixzz1WlNFcAVc

At around 8 PM, ten years ago tomorrow I was on one of the last LaGuardia - Reagan Delta shuttles to leave New York City. I was returning from a trip to the laboratory at the hospital located on the U.S. Military Academy base in West Point, NY.  We had completed a successful AABB blood bank inspection and was returning to home to Washington.  It was a trip I had done several times previously as the pathology consultant to Keller Army Community Hospital and would do several more times over the next four years on frequent site visits and to cover frozen sections as Keller did not have a full-time pathologist.  This experience was the nidus for telepathology in the Army.  I figured there had to be an easier way to cover remote frozens than to fly to New York City or drive for hours each way for 15 minutes of work.  

On this particular trip, leaving LaGuardia, I was able to capture a few images of lower Manhattan and New York harbor. At the time, I was still taking pictures with a film camera (and still do sometimes but it is getting harder to find quality film and processing facilities...).  After takeoff I pulled out my old but trusty Nikkormat FT2 camera, snapped on my equally old but reliable 200mm lens and was able to get off 3 shots. 

The lighting cooperated despite slow film and my telephoto lens.  I like the grainy nature, particularly for black and white photos.  I did not realize what I had on the roll until many months later and saw what are likely some of the last images of the World Trade Center, particularly from the air.  I could not find the original negatives but was able to scan some 4x6 prints I had made.  About 12 hours after I took this picture, the first plane hit the North tower of the World Trade Center. 

Source: PerkinElmer 

Why do more pathologists choose Aperio? 

Join us at the following September conferences to discover why.

CAP '11 - The Pathologists' Meeting™
Aperio Booth #511 - Gaylord Resort, Grapevine, TX
September 11-12, 2011

NSH 2011 - National Society for Histotechnology
Aperio Booth #124 - Duke Energy Convention Center,
Cincinnati, OH
September 18-20, 2011

• Preview Spectrum™ Healthcare - the workflow solution everyone is talking about
• Learn how seamlessly Aperio integrates with your LIS provider
• Experience the new ScanScope® AT - the highest throughput instrument on the market
• Discuss your institution's specific needs with our Digital Pathology Consultants

Contact the Aperio Events Team at events@aperio.comfor more information or to schedule a demonstration. 

YOUR PRESENTERS: Robert D. Atlas, CEO of Atlas Development Corporation Pat Wolfram, VP Marketing and Client Services, Ignis Systems

Robert D. Atlas

Pat Wolfram

___________________________________________________________________________

This second tidal wave of EMR adoption by office-based physicians is both a problem and an opportunity for clinical laboratories and pathology groups. It is a problem because many labs continue to be overwhelmed by physician requests to help them implement EMRs and qualify for phase 1 criteria.

It's an opportunity because Meaningful Use phase 2 criteria raises the bar for how physicians must electronically interface with laboratories, particularly for lab-test ordering and lab test results reporting. Labs that "get it right" can win new clients while labs that can't deliver face the risk of losing some of their best-referring physician-clients. 

By now, nine months after the Meaningful Use phase 1 criteria became effective, most labs have some experience developing the required electronic two-way interface between their laboratory information systems (LIS) and the new EMRs installed by physician-clients. 

Now clinical labs and pathology groups are about to face a totally new set of challenges as phase 2 of meaningful use soon kicks in. That makes it essential that you prepare your lab for these next steps. Physicians adopting EMRs will soon ask even more of laboratories in the way of IT integration.

Here's your opportunity to gain a better understanding of the status of phase-1 implementation and find out what you can expect from the fast-approaching phase 2 when you join The Dark Report and DarkDaily.com for their latest audio conference, "Meaningful Use: Phase 1 Lessons Learned and How to Prepare Your Lab for Phase 2 Requirements" on Wednesday, September 21, 2011.

You'll learn from two leading experts why changes to EMR Meaningful Use requirements will affect the way labs must integrate with the EMRs of office-based physicians. Listen as our experts reveal what they've learned about integrating labs to the new EMRs in phase 1. 

Not only will you get valuable updates on the latest Meaningful Use requirements during this audio conference, but you'll also acquire tactics for dealing with them successfully.

First to speak will be Pat Wolfram, of Ignis Systems who's an expert in both EMR systems and how these systems handle lab test data—including placing electronic lab-test orders and accepting structured lab test results into patient records. 

Wolfram will give you a better understanding of the specific EMR products being adopted by physicians in your area. You'll learn about their strengths and weaknesses, particularly when it comes to supporting electronic ordering of lab tests and reporting results. You'll also get a valuable preview of the newest generation of EMR products now coming to market.

Most important, you'll get a roadmap for crafting a strategy that will help your laboratory implement an interface between the LIS and the EMR to deliver clean, complete electronic test orders to your lab, which will help your valued physician-clients meet both phase 1 and phase 2 critera.

Our second speaker, Robert D. Atlas of Atlas Development Corporation, has considerable experience in web-browser-based services that support lab test orders/reporting by physicians. Atlas will help you understand the current state of the marketplace-and the mix of informatics capabilities your lab should be ready to deliver to high-referring office-based physicians.

Find out why to expect the unexpected—and what specific action steps your lab should take to gain competitive advantage and use your LIS-to-EMR strengths to win profitable new business. 

Whether you're a lab administrator, pathologist, or industry consultant, you need to stay on top of these significant changes involving Meaningful Use and LIS-to-EMR interfaces. Register today to guarantee your place at this essential learning session. 

Don't lose your physicians to competing labs! Make sure you can deliver an effective LIS-to-EMR interface right now by registering for this very timely audio conference today. Don't forget that your entire lab and IT team can learn and participate when you register.

For one low price—just $195 (through 9/9/11; $245 thereafter)—you and your entire team can take part in this fast-paced, insightful audio conference. Best of all, you'll be able to connect personally with either of the panelists when we open up the phone lines for live Q&A.

Here's just some of what you’ll learn during this in-depth 90-minute conference:

• The changes expected from Meaningful Use phase 2 criteria and why your lab needs to be ready.

• Lessons from Meaningful Use phase 1—what works best for labs when helping physicians adopt EMRs.

• Why even certified EMRs fall short of doing a good job handling structured lab tests results. 

• Fast, cheap, and effective methods your lab can use to connect to physician EMRs and deliver extraordinary customer service. 

• How to recognize when your lab's best clients are at risk during EMR implementation-and how to keep them happy.

• LOINC's potential to help your lab deliver doctor-pleasing lab test order/results reporting capabilities.

• How to effectively integrate with current EMR systems.

• EMR Meaningful Use requirements and what they mean for your lab in phase 2.

• Which government programs can help with the public health reporting requirements.

• Why information technology is your lab's trump card to become a key player in the emerging connected-care paradigm.

• Benefits of clean-order capture: the secrets of synchronizing orders from EMRs with results from the LIS so your lab captures a clean order, distributes the right result, files a clean claim, and gets paid on first submission.

• How to unleash the power of a robust rules engine and embedded web services order-entry platform in the physician's EMR to enhance the clinician's workflow while improving lab test utilization. 

• How technological solutions can enhance lab capacity and improve functional capability without adding to lab IT staff.
  …plus much more!
  

How to Register:
1. Online
2. Call toll free: 800-560-6363.

Your audio conference registration includes:

• A site license to attend the conference (invite as many people as you can fit around your speakerphone at no extra charge)
• Downloadable PowerPoint presentations from our speakers
• A full transcript emailed to you soon after the conference
• The opportunity to connect directly with our speaker during the audience Q&A session
  Register Now! Or for more information, call us toll-free at 800-560-6363. 

ACCENT® Continuing Education Credit
The American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC) designates this program for a maximum of 1.5 ACCENT® credit hours towards the AACC Clinical Chemist’s Recognition Award. AACC is an approved provider of continuing education for clinical laboratory scientists in the states of California, Florida, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and West Virginia.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — September 7, 2011 — Flagship Biosciences, a leading provider of FFPE and frozen tissue analysis for pharmaceutical and medical device development, announced today the launch of new heterogeneity testing services. These patent-pending techniques have been developed by in-house scientists at Flagship for better assessment of the variability of a DNA mutation or a protein expressed in tissue. Rather than assuming that a tissue sample is homogenous, the approach embraces the concept that heterogeneity can be critical biological information, and its evaluation a potential prognostic for therapy.

“Heterogeneity is a reflection of the plasticity of tumor cells” said Dr. Joseph Krueger, Director of Biology at Flagship Biosciences “This plasticity is regulated by both gene mutations and epigenetic gene product regulation.  These processes can create sub-populations of cells within a tumor which are inherently resistant or acquire resistance to a targeted therapy.  The current techniques for assessing a diagnostic marker to select patients for targeted therapies fail to account for the heterogeneity commonly seen in most types of cancer.”

The DNA mutation analysis service is a combination approach of both real-time PCR and repeated Sanger sequencing, using a proprietary method of normalization when analyzing ratios between wildtype and novel and known point mutations. The method identifies mutations in a sample as well as measuring the percentage of tissue with each mutation.

The IHC heterogeneity analysis relies on a proprietary tumor heterogeneity score called HetMap that reports both cell-level heterogeneity and tumor-level heterogeneity in the same tissue block utilized to determine the DNA mutation analysis. With IHC multiplexing, the HetMap score can evaluate additional markers and the interactions of markers as necessary. 

“The recent clearances in companion diagnostics for specific mutations in melanoma and lung cancer demonstrate the importance of evaluating heterogeneity in tissue.  Despite having a driving mutation in these tumors, 40-50% of selected patients will not show a response to drugs which target these mutations.  This could be because of variability in tumor cells having that mutation, or other independent factors which cause insensitivity to the drug in sub-populations of cells” added Joseph Krueger.  “Determining mutation penetration and the variance in the expression of specific proteins can point to the underlying cause for refractory disease. Incorporating assessments of tumor heterogeneity as part of a diagnostic will facilitate better prediction of a patient’s potential for response, and will provide rationale and selection for therapy regimens that will increase the response rates of these refractory patients.

The DNA heterogeneity complements the IHC heterogeneity measurement.  The penetrance of a particular mutation can be correlated to specific factors assessed by IHC.  While immunohistochemisty is a semiquantitative technique, it has the exquisite advantage of cell-level protein expression analysis, with cellular details and contextual information about the expression of a protein in nests of cells.

The image analysis and pathology techniques behind HetMap will be presented at the Pathology Visions 2011 conference, the premier conference on Digital Pathology. Specific applications will be presented at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium meeting this year.  Publications describing these novel approaches are being submitted for publication this year.

Flagship Biosciences is a pathology CRO, that specializes in tissue-based companion diagnostics, and histopathology assessment of efficacy and toxicity using brightfield and fluorescent whole slide imaging. 

ASCP seeks an Editor-in-Chief for LabMedicine, the Society's journal for laboratory professionals.

This paid volunteer role has the responsibility for the overall strategic direction of LabMedicine, one of ASCP's most visible and important member benefits.

The Editor-in-Chief will also work with our editorial board and internal ASCP staff to implement a comprehensive new strategic direction for the journal.

To be considered, candidates must have:

• Experience working with scientific journals; as an author, editor, editorial board member, or reviewer
• A doctoral degree or medical degree, in some facet of laboratory medicine. Masters level candidates will also be considered.
• Broad medical knowledge, high ethical standards, strategic planning skills, and a commitment to improving patient care.

A monthly stipend will be offered. For details and to apply, click here

If you experience any problems linking to the URL or viewing the job posting, please send an email to recruiting@chicago.ascp.org.

Best Practice™ Workshop Set for Monday, Sept. 12, at 6:15 p.m.

RYE BROOK, N.Y., Aug. 16, 2011 — CBLPath will showcase its Best Practice™ Partnership Program at the upcoming College of Pathologists (CAP) annual meeting, Booth #217. The company will provide attendees with valuable information about how they can leverage the convergence of anatomic, molecular and digital pathology to stay independent — Keeping Medicine Local™. CAP ’11 – THE Pathologists’ Meeting™ takes place September 11–14 in Grapevine (Dallas/Ft. Worth) Texas.

CAP ’11 attendees can learn more about CBLPath’s innovative Best Practice program — offering local pathology practices a full range of business and technology solutions — and get the most from the meeting with:

• Demos of LabIS®, CBLPath’s proven pathology management system
• The chance to speak with Program Partners
• An informative Best Practice workshop on Monday, Sept. 12, at 6:15 p.m.
• A Relaxation Station that offers chair massages to meeting attendees
• Local representatives from across the U.S. to talk with prospective partners

For more about the CAP ’11 meeting, visit http://www.cap.org/cap11.

About CBLPath
CBLPath is a national specialty lab with a unique leadership position in the convergence of anatomic, molecular and digital pathology. Beginning from a clinical perspective, we harness molecular testing and digital pathology on an anatomic pathology foundation. CBLPath is committed to helping our clients deliver better medicine, faster. At our core are pathologists; excited about technology and innovation and its promise of helping patients. Through the Best PracticeTM Partnership Program we help our pathologist-clients effectively compete against centralized reference laboratories, grow their Practice and remain independent — Keeping Medicine Local™. We provide our subspecialty physician clients comprehensive diagnostics and timely, accurate reports enabling the best patient care. For more about the company, please visit http://www.CBLPath.com.