Medical Laboratory Observer articles from April 2008

Medical Laboratory Observer archives from April 2008

What happens in Vegas might not stay in Vegas.(From the editor)(Editorial)
April 1, 2008... When the news first broke about the Nevada endoscopy clinic that, over a period of four years, may have exposed as many as 40,000 patients to hepatitis C and HIV through reuse of needles, I thought I had misheard the TV commentator. The...

Retraction.(Readers respond)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... Editor's note: In the March 2008 issue of MLO, a Special Report from R.J. Ozmon, MT(ASCP) SBB, contained what was purported to be a quotation attributed to Mr. Rick Betts, director of marketing for Abaxis. This quotation was incorrect. MLO...

Incorrect alphabits.(Readers respond)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... I just got to read your December 2007 issue, and noticed in the Toxicon article by Jeffrey Hays ["Toxikon: an ancient word fits modern-day poisons," page 10] that EMIT is listed as "electro-magnetic impedance translation." Um, sorry, but it...

Man comatose after exposure to ricin poison.(News)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... CNN reported on Feb. 29 that a man was comatose in a Las Vegas hospital after the deadly poison ricin was found in his hotel room. Police do not suspect foul play in his poisoning, but why the substance was in the room is still a mystery....

Health department warns 40K patients in Nevada.(News)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Last month, health officials began delivering bad news to 40,000 patients who were treated at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada. The Las Vegas Review-Journal says these patients may have been exposed to HIV and hepatitis between March...

HIV blocking gene found.(HIV/AIDS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... News-Medical.net reported a team of researchers at the University of Alberta (U of A), which included a scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, has identified a human gene called TRIM22 that can block HIV infection in a cell culture by...

Drug-resistant TB at record levels.(Infectious diseases)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... The New York Times reported multiple-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) cases in parts of the former Soviet Union have reached the highest rates ever recorded and could soar even higher. The World Health Organization (WHO) released these...

Conferences.(The Observatory)(Conference news)
April 1, 2008... * May 7. From 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET, the AABB presents an audioconference on "The Impact of Thrombopoietin (TPO) Agonists on Platelet Transfusion." Learn to evaluate the physiology of platelet production and the role of TPO, describe the...

HLA-omics and cancer biomarkers: emerging tools and technologies for the medical laboratory.(Disease/Disorder overview)
April 1, 2008... CONTINUING EDUCATION To earn CEUs, see current test at www.mlo-online.com under the CE Tests tab. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this article, the reader will be able to recognize: 1. the role of HLA class I molecules...

The cholesterol controversy continues.(CLINICAL ISSUES)
April 1, 2008... In 1985, during the Nobel Lecture, Brown and Goldstein, stated, "Cholesterol is the most highly decorated small molecule in biology," a comment supported by 13 Nobel Prizes having been awarded to individuals who devoted a significant part of...

A common goal worlds apart: determination to help patients marks MLO's 2008 Medical Laboratory of the Year winners.(LAB MANAGEMENT)(Editorial)(Company overview)
April 1, 2008... Each year, MLO sponsors a friendly competition among laboratories in conjunction with National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week (April 20-26, 2008). A three-judge MLO panel selects the winner as well as the first and second runners-up. Our...

Antek HealthWare's evolving software solutions.(Executive snapshot)(Editorial)
April 1, 2008... Milestones. When I started with the company as the technical support manager, we had approximately 800 laboratory information system (LIS) clients primarily in the physician office laboratory (POL) environment, with 12 support representatives....

Labs Are Vital: industry takes aim at lab workforce shortage.(Special feature)
April 1, 2008... Increasing reliance on diagnostic testing makes the laboratory a critical component in 21st-century healthcare. The growing shortage of laboratory professionals, however, puts patient care and public health at risk. The average vacancy...

Not speaking English in front of patients.(Addressing management issues)
April 1, 2008... Q We have several excellent foreign techs here at the 25-bed county hospital lab that I manage. My concern is that they speak their native language within the hearing of our patients; I do not mind when there are no patients present. Their...

Productivity measure.(Addressing management issues)
April 1, 2008... Q I am fighting the continual battle of productivity with my administration. Is there a national standard that applies to labs for determining this? Currently, we are based on billable procedures. I am forced to use the low stat of 0.1679 for...

Getting rid of bleeding times.(Answering your questions)(Editorial)
April 1, 2008... Q We are a medium-size (275-bed) community hospital, specializing in joint-replacement surgery and rehab. We also have a very active obstetrics (OB) department. We still have doctors who insist on ordering bleeding times, even though my...

Urine wet prep glitter cell reporting.(Answering your questions)
April 1, 2008... Q Recently, I became the lab manager. I have a technical question about urine wet-prep procedure. The previous lab manager had written the following reporting criteria into the procedure. I believe she had taken it from the eighth edition of...

Heel-stick location.(Answering your questions)
April 1, 2008... Q I have seen that when you heel stick a baby, you are only to use one side of the heel. Is this true? Also what is the proper amount of blood to take from a zero-day to one-year-old child? Do you think heel warmers are okay to use on infants?...

Measured vs. calculated free T4.(Answering your questions)
April 1, 2008... Q Most automated chemistry analyzers now can directly determine free T4 (fT4). What are the advantages and disadvantages of replacing a calculated a free thyroxine index (FTI) with a directly determined free T4. I find much of what I read...

How long is lab order valid?(Answering your questions)
April 1, 2008... Q How long is a physician order for laboratory testing valid (e.g., three months, six months, one year)? I have not been able to find a source that states a time period. A A standing order is an order written by an authorized medical...

Overtime work and pay puzzle workers.(Liability and the lab)
April 1, 2008... Q Our administration requires us to work more than an eight-hour shift because we are short staffed. Supervisors do not get overtime pay, but we bear the brunt of the extra work. Can the hospital force us to work overtime? A The question...

Patient-education resource gains added support.(EDUCATION)(American Association of Bioanalysts)(American Academy of Family Physician's Proficiency Testing)(American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
April 1, 2008... The American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) recently announced that two more laboratory organizations have agreed to collaborate on the development of the patient-education website, Lab Tests Online (www.labtestsonline.org). The...

An LIS supports quality initiatives.(Product focus)
April 1, 2008... Quality continues to be a hot topic. Why? For starters, the regulations require it, and it makes good economic sense. Most of all, patients deserve it. Savvy managers recognize the synergy between quality and efficiency. While quality is not...

Advanced LIS.(Product focus: Laboratory information systems)(Softlab Inc.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... SoftLab offers broad functionality and cost effectiveness, while simplifying even the most complex operating environments where speed, accuracy, and cost are important considerations. The fully integrated SoftLab system supplies a seamless...

Automate entire process.(Product focus: Laboratory information systems)(Horizon Lab)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... The Horizon Lab integrated information solution for all laboratory settings enhances patient safety, productivity, and profitability. Horizon Lab automates the entire laboratory process, including order entry, point-of-care, specimen...

More tools, more information.(Product focus: Laboratory information systems)(CyberLAB LIS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... A new version of CyberLAB, 7.2.3 is now available for distribution to existing and new laboratory information system (LIS) customers. This system is used to fully automate and manage complex laboratory processes, meeting the business and...

Optimum flexibility.(Product focus: Laboratory information systems)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Clarus Lab allows users to manage the entire functionality in a lab from ordering a test to scheduling tests for patients at a future date; transmitting orders directly to instruments interfacing with the solution; uploading from these...

Complete support.(Product focus: Laboratory information systems)(Fletcher Flora)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... FFlex eLink is software designed to provide much needed connectivity directly between a laboratory's clinical instruments and an electronic medical records, practice-management system, electronic health records, or other host system. FFlex...

Improve safety and efficiency.(Product focus: Laboratory information systems)(SunQuest L.L.C.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Sunquest Laboratory helps optimize and manage the lab with the tools needed to efficiently operate, while bringing high levels of service to patients and caregivers. Integrated microbiology, blood bank, and point-of-care phlebotomy, plus...

Robust features.(Product focus: Laboratory information systems)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Z-Lab is a PC/server-based LIS, designed for use in a physician's private practice laboratory and offers a choice of user interfaces. There is a GUI browser-based interface, as well as a traditional character-based interface, allowing use of...

Full-featured LIS.(Product focus: Laboratory information systems)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... LabWeb is a full-featured LIS, with advanced functionality rules-based analysis; a lean, powerful database for in-depth analysis, and quality-assurance and QC capabilities. With the availability of advanced feature modules including a "SBB"...

Lab replaces homegrown laboratory information system.(Product focus)(Company overview)
April 1, 2008... NICL Laboratories (NICL) began as a hospital-based independent laboratory in 1977, servicing a hospital and its associated multispecialty clinic. In 1981, NICL began developing its outreach program and establishing its niche, from specialized...

Fast and fully automated.(Industry spotlight)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Two HA-8160 models are available, one high-speed and one high-separation. The high-speed model has fast and fully automated processing, at just 90 seconds per sample. Both models use the HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography) method, and...

Mechanize tasks.(Industry spotlight)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... A wide variety of pneumatic and servo grippers are available, allowing mechanization of manual and mundane tasks, and more time for value-added activities. Grippers reduce human error, increase volume of sample tracking, improve sterile...

Streamline performance.(Industry spotlight)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... The MVS Multichannel Verification System streamlines liquid-handling quality assurance. A rapid, easy-to-use system that provides NIST-traceable results, the MVS is now able to automatically measure target volumes in groups of microtiter plates...

New pipette features.(Industry spotlight)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... The D-Tipper family of MLA-brand pipettes has been updated. Spring forces are reduced to minimize thumb-muscle activity, and a glove guard eliminates potential catching during tip removal. Serial numbers have also been added to facilitate...

Parasite collection.(Industry spotlight)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... For parasite collection, the Para-Pro fc50's conical design creates more than double the surface area of the other closed concentrators allowing for more rapid and complete filtration. It also incorporates a novel air-exchange channel, which...

Aid in diagnosis.(Industry spotlight)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... The ARCHITECT CORE-M is an automated, qualitative hepatitis assay for use on ARCHITECT instruments for the detection of immunoglobulin (IgM) antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen virus--aiding the diagnosis of acute or recent hepatitis B viral...

Proficiency resource.(Industry spotlight)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is a national healthcare concern, thus, the MRSA Survey aids laboratories in evaluating performance and improving accuracy of test results. This comprehensive proficiency-testing...

Reduce steps.(Industry spotlight)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... The ABL800 FLEX analyzer with FLEXQ queues up to three blood-gas samples for automatic identification, mixing, and aspiration. FLEXQ is a component of the first automatic system made by this company, which combines instruments, samplers, and IT...

CLIAC update.(Washington report)(Clinical Laboratory Improvement Advisory Committee )(Conference news)
April 1, 2008... The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Advisory Committee (CLIAC) members met Feb. 20-21, 2008, at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for their regular meeting. This meeting celebrated 20 years of the Clinical Laboratory...