Medical Laboratory Observer articles from December 2005

Medical Laboratory Observer archives from December 2005

Loiter 'round the yule log.(disaster summary)
December 1, 2005... The promise of the New Year lies just around the corner. While soothsayers and pundits reveal their versions of 2005 and visions for 2006, the reflections rolling around in my brain are about my haphazard disaster preparations, despite my...

Readers respond: DNA mutations in animals.(Letters to the editor)
December 1, 2005... The article "The nature of emerging zoonotic diseases: ecology, prediction, and prevention" [MLO, July 2005, p. 10] gave an overview concerning the Earth's animal population. The authors are to be congratulated on even-handedly considering all...

Readers respond: music to our ears.(Letters to the editor)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2005... My eyes happened to settle on your editorial in the September 2005 issue of MLO ["Somethings" gotta give," p. 4]. You cannot imagine my surprise to learn that you follow bluegrass. I am a lifelong resident of Ann Arbor, MI, and have been in the...

Readers respond: congrats to HH authors.(Letters to the editor)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2005... As a medical technologist who has [the disease], I was thrilled to see the CE article on "Hereditary Hemochromatosis" [MLO October 2005, p.10]. Congratulations to the authors of this great article. I frequently get asked to recommend...

Readers respond: beg to differ.(Letters to the editor)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2005... I am the supervisor for the Medical Laboratory Services section of the Bureau of Licensure and Certification for the Health Division in Nevada... I see incorrect statements in this article regarding training requirements for phlebotomy in the...

Readers respond: because of Winn-Dixie.(Letters to the editor)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2005... I heard through the grapevine that you were looking for us. Is that correct? We were on duty at Charity Hospital for Katrina and helped evacuate the patients before being evacuated by airboat on the Friday after the hurricane hit. We had about...

Probiotics suggested as weapon against MRSA.(methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Probiotics suggested as weapon against MRSA. Professor Mark Spigelman from University College London recently proposed in the Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons that washing hands with antibiotics may be killing off harmless bacteria,...

COLA and CLSI announce partnership.(Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute)(Clinical Laboratory Accreditation and Education)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... COLA and CLSI announce partnership. Lab-accrediting COLA and global-standards developer CLSI (Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute) announced in late October a partnership through which CLSI will develop a collection of consensus...

Threatening global pandemic demands attention.
December 1, 2005... Threatening global pandemic demands attention. In early November, the Canadian government announced that the avian flu strain found in 33 live ducks in two provinces was unlikely to be the same H5N1 strain as that ravaging Asian poultry farms;...

Routine HIV tests for fever patients.(Human Immunodeficiency Virus )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Routine HIV tests for fever patients. A study published in the September/October 2005 issue of the journal Annals of Family Medicine estimates that routine HIV testing of 3 million patients with fever or signs of viral illness would turn up...

Conferences.(Calendar)
December 1, 2005... Jan. 26-27, 2006. Washington G-2 Reports presents "Building a Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory" at the Miami Radisson. The keynote address by one of 11 world-class genetics and MDx lab experts kicks off two days of discussions on varied topics:...

Identify and capitalize on your lab's molecular potential.(molecular diagnostics)
December 1, 2005... From its beginnings, molecular diagnostics has been challenged to find its identity in the field of laboratory medicine. Some describe molecular diagnostics as a compilation of methods and technologies that use DNA or RNA to test for disease,...

CE test on identify and capitalize on your lab's molecular potential.(CONTINUING EDUCATION)
December 1, 2005... MLO and Northern Illinois University (NIU), DeKalb, IL, are co-sponsors in offering continuing education units (CEUs) for this issue's article on IDENTIFY AND CAPITALIZE ON YOUR LAB'S MOLECULAR POTENTIAL. CEUs or contact hours are granted by...

The reference to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI)-approved two-year CLT/MLT technician programs and four-year CLS/MT technologist programs should have been NAACLS-approved.(Correction Notice)
December 1, 2005... In the October 2005 issue of MLO, on page 34, the reference to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI)-approved two-year CLT/MLT technician programs and four-year CLS/MT technologist programs should have been NAACLS-approved,...

Serum tumor markers: Part I: clinical utility.
December 1, 2005... Tumor markers are chemicals found in the body (i.e., tissue and fluids) that have application in the management of patients who currently have, are suspected of having, or have had cancer. Tumor markers are usually constituents of healthy cells...

A lab's strategy to reduce errors depends on automation.(LAB MANAGEMENT)
December 1, 2005... Six years ago, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued its report To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System. The monograph's conclusion was so startling that one of its statistics still reverberates throughout healthcare today: Up to...

Gerd Weigart scopes out Carl Zeiss' history.(Executive snapshot)(Interview)
December 1, 2005... Ergonomic design: Over the past five years, the field of microscopy has witnessed the development of highly ergonomic designs, such as low focusing knobs, low stages for the pathologist-cytologist, height/tilt adjustable observation tubes, and...

An accessible, multipronged approach advances lab business education.(Clinical Laboratory Management Association with Bayer Diagnostics to jointly develop programs and curriculum to support mission)
December 1, 2005... Today's laboratory professionals must possess acumen in a broad range of areas from clinical excellence, to health systems' delivery, to patient services. Now, with pressures mounting to streamline operations, boost productivity, and even...

Addressing management issues.
December 1, 2005... Setting priorities with diplomacy Q Two years ago, our lab director hired an LIS manager with no knowledge of our lab nor our LIS. The person who previously held this position did all the LIS work, but had let the work for our facility...

Answering your questions.(Tips from the clinical experts)
December 1, 2005... Heparin Xa assay Q When implementing new lots of partial thromboplastin time (PTT) reagents and/or CaC[l.sub.2] reagent for PTT testing, we have been generating a heparin response curve. We have heard that the College of American...

Could new lab-report policy open a "Pandora's box"?(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
December 1, 2005... Q A proposal has been made that patients as well as their physicians get copies of their outpatient lab reports. What are the legal issues involved with making such a change? A Most of the issues involved are logistical, philosophical, and...

Autoimaging systems: new pathology applications.(Product focus)
December 1, 2005... The Nanozoomer Digital Pathology System, a virtual microscopy system that quickly delivers automatic, high throughput scanning with outstanding image quality, utilizes high-precision technology to gently lift and transfer each slide into...

Autoimaging systems: automated digital cell morphology.(Product focus)
December 1, 2005... The DM96 is an automated image-analysis system, which standardizes the manual blood differential by locating and preclassifying various types of white blood cells in peripheral blood and red blood cell morphology and on a peripheral smear. The...

Autoimaging systems: exact observation recall.(Product focus)
December 1, 2005... The COOLSCOPE VS is a complete, standalone digital microscope that incorporates the ability to create, store, and share virtual slides with its bundled software suite. Magnifications of 5X, 10X, 20X, and 40X with motorized changeover at the...

Autoimaging systems: image analysis for biomaker quantification.(Product focus)
December 1, 2005... The Ariol high-throughput image-analysis system was designed to serve the core needs of the clinical or research lab and grow as the lab grows. For the clinical lab, a menu of predefined and user-optimized assays can be scanned, analyzed, and...

Ductless chem workstation.(Industry spotlight)
December 1, 2005... An economical solution for protection of operator and environment from toxic vapors, gases, fumes, and particulate, the AC600 Series workstation features automatic airflow monitoring and alarm, gas detection/filter monitor, and space-age...

Manage chem inventory.(Industry spotlight)
December 1, 2005... Introducing CISProLive, a new pay-as-you-go version of the CISPro chemical inventory system. This high-performance, relational database system delivers all the necessary tools to accurately track chemicals and supplies, and meet safety and...

Plasma Thawing System.(Industry spotlight)
December 1, 2005... The QuickThaw Plasma Thawing Systems provide rapid, safe thawing of random and apheresis FFP. The DH4 accommodates up to four units of FFP, while the DH8 accommodates up to eight. The systems include polished stainless-steel tank and baskets,...

Relieve back/neck pain.(Industry spotlight)
December 1, 2005... The ZACKBACK Microscope Posture Chair provides a new solution to the high incidence of back and neck pain with prolonged microscope work. Unlike traditional lumbar-support chairs, ZACKBACK features a multi-adjustable, dual back support system...

Cystic fibrosis testing.(Industry spotlight)
December 1, 2005... Introducing INTROL, quality controls for molecular diagnostic testing of cystic fibrosis and thrombotic risk. For method validation and daily QC, these cost-effective controls (multiple mutations in one bottle) verify the entire test--including...

Safe blood collection.(Industry spotlight)
December 1, 2005... Introducing a series of Plastic Capillary Tubes for use with the company's Stat Profile Critical Care Xpress and pHOx series blood-gas/critical-care analyzers for safe blood collection. These heparinized tubes provide the same capillary action...

Ergonomic pipettor.(Industry spotlight)
December 1, 2005... The Scienceware Pipette Pump III Pipettor series design helps reduce risk of injury from repetitive and awkward pipetting motions. Its length is ideal for use in fume hoods and controlled environment glove boxes. Pipettors are available in...

Quantitative EPO measurement.(Industry spotlight)
December 1, 2005... The FDA-cleared Erythropoietin (EPO) ELISA kit is intended for in vitro diagnostic use, as an adjunct in determining causes of anemia and erythrocytosis. EPO is also used to monitor AIDS patients undergoing AZT therapy and to monitor Rx Epogen...

Jam-free labels.(Industry spotlight)
December 1, 2005... CILS8100AC labels solve the problem of fused prelabeled vials during mass batch processing experienced by autoclave users, resulting in damaged labels, subsequent loss of important data, and unusable vials. These labels are specifically...

Moisture protection.(Industry spotlight)
December 1, 2005... The DESI SHEET, an ultrathin sheet of extruded polymer with built-in moisture protection absorbs moisture and other harmful gasses that can affect the accuracy and reliability of direct-to-consumer test kits and other in vitro diagnostic kit...

Detect TRACP 5b.(Industry spotlight)
December 1, 2005... A new ELISA for the detection of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b in human serum and plasma, Bone TRAP detects TRACP 5b activity freshly liberated from osteoclasts. It can be used to determine increased bone-resorption rate in subjects...

Singular views of the year ahead: dodging "bullets" in 2006?(Congressional budget reconciliators)
December 1, 2005... The clinical laboratory industry dodged several bullets in 2005. Congressional budget reconciliators, looking for offsets to help fund hurricane-relief efforts, avoided the temptation to restore patient co-payments or otherwise trim...

Singular views of the year ahead: continued pressure and P4P.(Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The laboratory community will continue to feel pressure--not only on the ever-present payment side, where the prospect of cuts looms large and the nascent Pay-for-Performance (P4P) initiatives gather steam--but also on the oversight and...

Singular views of the year ahead: what is in the 2006 crystal ball for CLIA?(Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments)
December 1, 2005... On the QC and regulatory (CLIA) front, CMS is collaborating with technical experts, laboratory-professional organizations, diagnostic manufacturers, and other government agencies to develop a QC guidance document for labs via the CLSI-consensus...