Just the other day a question of how to alert physicians of laboratory reflex rules came up. After all, everyone's rules are slightly different.

Examples: if the dipstick is positive for blood or leukocyte esterase, perform a microscopic examination of urine sediment; if the triglycerides are elevated, perform a direct LDL cholesterol measurement; if a screen for unexpected antibodies is positive, perform ...

Biotest Diagnostics awarded agreements with Premier healthcare alliance for its advanced serology solutions

Biotest Diagnostics Corp. recently announced a multi-year agreement with Premier Purchasing Partners, L.P., the group purchasing unit of Premier Inc., for its advanced serology solutions, including traditional blood bank reagents, and the TANGO optimo automated blood bank system.

The agreement ...

Don Watson says in his introduction to Watson's Dictionary of Weasel Words, Contemporary Cliches, Cant, & Management Jargon that weasel words are bringing about the death of language. "The real disease," he writes, "is in the system: in the new models of business organisation, in the triumph ...

The other week I watched a show on the Discovery channel in disbelief. Called Pig Bomb, it described hoards of feral pigs roaming the Southeast. Locals may have cross-bred the American boar with its ill-tempered cousin, the Eurasian wild boar, for

3M, St. Paul, MN announced today the introduction of the 3M Rapid Detection RSV Test. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) infects the lungs and breathing passages and is a common cause of bronchitis and pneumonia in children under 1 year.

The Rapid Detection RSV Test is designed to detect the ...

Cooperative Diagnostics LLC, Greenwood, SC, recently announced the availability of a new diagnostic assay for Xenotropic Murine Leukemia-Related Virus (XMRV) to assist physicians in the diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome and other disorders potentially caused by the virus. Testing services will also be made available to the general public, according to a company ...

It never ceases to amaze me how different each day in the lab can be...  I was able to perform another "first" today.  Our Microbiology department is responsible for obtaining nasopharyngeal swabs in the outpatient testing area, on occasions when the usual staff is unavailable to do them.  I had seen them done, read the procedure, just hadn't ever collected one yet.  So I offered to go and ...

A recent Science Daily article discussed a study that found blood tests for syphilis diagnosis produce false negatives 20-30 percent of the time.

The study also found most health professionals don't have access to more reliable tests methods using fluorescent antibody testing or ...

MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System) debuted 28 years ago, quickly finding its way into labs on PCs in offices or attached to instruments. Programs such as BASIC promised much. We just knew, deep down, that computers meant less paper, effortless statistics, and (ha, ha) fewer telephone calls.

Nearly three ...

I always advise questioners that one cannot get the flu from the flu shot, members of all high risk groups should take the shot, and taking the shot is the responsible thing ...

About a month ago, I was visiting with my sister. During our conversation, she brought up that her boyfriend had swine flu. I was concerned for him (and, additionally, for her) but also intrigued because he was the first person I knew who had H1N1. Working for a healthcare magazine, I've read a lot about H1N1 and I bombarded Emily with questions. Turns out, her boyfriend went to the doctor but didn't actually ...

To the Editor:
Since ASCP and NCA issued their press release announcing they had reached agreement on combining their lab personnel certification programs, I have, in my capacity as executive director, been asked by our members and the outside world for AMT's views on this recent announcement, and what its implications are for AMT and its MT and MLT certificants.

In my view, what is significant ...

I once read an article about a BASIC program used to temperature-correct arterial blood gas results. This was in the day when a program could be "keyed in" from a magazine. BASIC, which stands for Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code, was quick, versatile, and loaded on nearly all computers. You may remember this:

10 CLS
20 ...

I had the pleasure of attending the ASCLS Region V Annual Meeting this past week in Watertown, South Dakota.  What a wonderful experience!  I was able to listen to some great talks ranging from healthcare reform, to "providing the face" for the medical laboratory scientist, tuberculosis detection and a few others.  The conference provided a lot of new information, although I think my managers and coworkers ...

Biotest Diagnostics Corp., Rockaway, NJ, announced a multi-year agreement with Premier Purchasing Partners L.P., the group purchasing unit of Premier Inc., Charlotte, NC, for its advanced serology solutions, including traditional blood bank reagents, and the TANGO optimo Automated Blood Bank System.

In addition to this national contract, Biotest has also been selected as a sole source supplier under ...

Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Raritan, NJ, announced today FDA approval of a diagnostic assay for the detection of antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) types 1+2 (Anti-HIV 1+2) for use on the VITROS 5600 Integrated and VITROS 3600 Immunodiagnostic Systems.

This is the first HIV diagnostic assay approved for an integrated system in the United States, allowing laboratories to run HIV and other ...

Much was made of the President's "beer summit" last July, a meeting between a black professor and the white policeman who arrested him, something the Wall Street Journal labeled a "teachable moment." Aside from wondering what kind of beer goes best with conflict resolution, ...

My med tech class took a field trip to Lifeblood, based in Memphis, a blood processing and collection center. The trip was very educational.

I always thought when someone received a blood transfusion they were getting whole blood, but that's not always the case. Depending on the situation, the patient could just receive plasma or platelets, etc.

Seeing the process from beginning to end was ...

Just over 2 months ago I wrote a blog discussing the NCA-ASCP merger. The blog elicited a lot of responses both directly on this site and through personal email. One nagging question has been the role of AMT in all of this. Some AMT certificants worried that they would ...

As a new professional, I've been putting myself out there for every opportunity available to train in new areas, or pick up additional tasks.  After all, I am still a student at heart!  So I offered to help cover shifts at another hospital in our area, within the Affinity Health System.  I had a few days of training down there, mostly to familiarize myself with the day to days, since the actual job ...

It wouldn't surprise me if most laboratories have more written procedures than all other departments of the hospital combined -- shelves of them in worn, bursting binders. Printed or scanned, that's a lot of writing. And I'll bet the procedures are all comprehensive, detailed, and referenced.

CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments)

When a round robin of "What's New" got to me at a recent department head meeting I said, "We're working on a new C. diff algorithm that screens for toxin-producing antigen and not just the toxin." Amid blank stares one manager laughed, "English please!"

Such befuddlement is a good-natured acknowledgement that the lab is a technical, even obtuse, department. And while this example is somewhat ...

Just about everyone knows someone in the workplace whose mantra is "that's the way we have always done it here." People like that are usually afraid of change and so cling desperately to the status quo long after it has outlived its usefulness.

There is also an inherent element of power. A new hot shot technologist/scientist/director joins the work force and the "old timer" immediately feels threatened. ...

Abbott, Abbott Park, IL, has announced a $6.6 billion definitive agreement to acquire Solvay's pharmaceuticals business and full global rights to the fenofibrate franchise. The acquisition will provide Abbott with a large and complementary portfolio of pharmaceutical products and a significant presence in key global emerging markets, according to a company press release.

Abbott projects Belgium-based Solvay ...

According to CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments) Sec. 493.1413(b)(8), the technical consultant is responsible for "evaluating the competency of testing personnel." There are a number of ways to do this: direct observation, review of records, analyzing previously tested samples, and so on. These have to be written ...