I am thrilled to present this January 2012 issue to you, as its content epitomizes what we at ADVANCE strive to achieve with every online and print edition--to provide you with quality resources and materials geared to helping you make better, more informed technology, business and personnel decisions for your laboratory.
While dollars remain tight, our cover story, for example, identifies must-have technologies worth the investment. Writes Associate Editor Kelly Bocich, "After the past years of a dragging economy, ongoing uncertainty about healthcare changes in the United States and a frequent general uneasiness about how to keep a clinical laboratory with a shrinking budget up to speed with increasing demands, the new year is a good time to look forward optimistically. The tools available to help the lab succeed as a valued and critical player in the best possible patient care are abundant and lab managers and administrators must take advantage of them in whatever capacity possible."
Explored are technologies that contribute to faster TATs, more reliable results and efficient workflows, including autoverification, molecular diagnostics and more.
As well, "Meaningful Use" is a term that's been greatly emphasized for the past two years at least. Many organizations have moved beyond Stage 1 Meaningful Use and are preparing for stages 2 and 3. If you intend to demonstrate meaningful use for your laboratory and receive the incentive payments, you will need to be familiar with LOINC.® "LOINC and its Logic for the Lab" breaks down the ins and outs of understanding the terminology, what it means for the lab and how to populate your lab information system with LOINC.
In addition to informing you on LOINC logic, we also present an article on the emergence of new anticoagulant therapies that are improving patient outcomes and driving the need for significant changes to long-established coagulation testing methods.
We hope you have a happy, healthy new year and look forward to being your No. 1 resource for clinical laboratory management topics.
Lynn Nace, Editor
lnace@advanceweb.com