ADVANCE Discourse: Lab Knowing Let’s forget about money for a second. I know that can be difficult – what, with all of those pesky adult responsibilities and everything, but bare with me.  If money wasn’t an object, and your physician wanted to order a test that you knew wouldn’t be covered under your insurance, would you get ...

If you could have your genome sequenced and unlock all of the secrets your DNA holds, would you? I asked that question of Dr. Robert Daber, technical director of Clinical Genomics at the Center for Personalized Diagnostics, and Dr. Jennifer Morrissette, scientific director of the Cytogenics Lab and director of the Center for Personalized ...

I just saw the blockbuster movie Contagion and must say I was pretty impressed. When I watch a medical-themed movie, I always look at it with a critical eye. How factual is it? Is it authentic in terms of scenarios, equipment, procedures and vocabulary?I look for how realistically roles are portrayed. For example I tend to roll my eyes and become ...

First, it was San Francisco banning Happy Meal toys. And now it looks like New York wants to follow suit. A time.com article recently stated: ''New York City Council member Leroy G. Comrie, Jr., of Queens is leading the charge to ban kid-friendly toys from any fast-food meal that doesn't meet certain nutritional standards, arguing that the plastic ...

Last week I blogged about knowing your family medical history. When you look at  genetic diseases and illnesses in your family tree, that could lead to a discussion on genetic testing. Some diseases, including breast cancer, have genetic tests available to assess a person's risk of inheriting a disease in the future. It looks like more ...

This morning I read a story in the New York Times about how New York is mandating flu shots for all healthcare workers, mostly out of fear of H1N1 outbreaks. A healthcare union in the state is protesting, saying: ''Healthcare workers on the front lines of providing care deserve the dignity and respect of thoughtful consideration before a ...

Here's a great article from The New York Times featuring the lab and H1N1 testing. The story says rapid tests for H1N1 fail to properly detect infections more than half the time. Have you been finding this is true for your laboratory?

An article I found on the United Press International's Web site said the WHO is getting ready to tell countries to stop testing for the H1N1 virus. Because these tests are flooding labs and making it hard for laboratorians to keep up, healthcare professionals may be asked to depend on a patient's symptoms to diagnose the illness instead of a lab ...

You cannot turn on the TV or log onto any popular website like AOL without being greeted by the latest update on the swine flu pandemic. Over the weekend, I spoke with friends who were planning a vacation to Mexico next week and are now concerned about the wisdom of making that trip. Others are just scared to travel anywhere away from ...

Paul Levy, president and CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, in his recent blog ''Running a Hospital,'' proudly published his hospital's nosocomial infection rate and boldly challenged other hospitals to do the same. He also threw down the gauntlet to insurance companies and state healthcare agencies. Nosocomial infections ...