May 2023 Edition
Lighthouse Lab Services
Helping with Lab Management, Recruiting, Consulting, and Lab Director Services for the clinical laboratory industry.
Full Focus:?How to Establish Coding and Get Paid for New Laboratory Tests
Developing a new laboratory test to serve your patient population is a great way to display a forward-thinking approach. However, labs often stumble when trying to determine exactly how to establish coding AND get consistent reimbursement from payers for their efforts.
Be sure to join us for our next webinar?Tuesday, May 30, at noon EDT, as we welcome our own?Ann Lambrix?alongside?Lena Chaihorsky, Co-Founder and VP of Payer Innovation for?Alva10, to cover various pathways to obtain reimbursement and coding for new lab tests, including a discussion of why it's crucial to consider payer coverage before establishing coding. We'll also break down the various coding pathways you can pursue and review the pros and cons of each.
LATEST NEWS
1. CMS Allows Continuation of Remote Review, Definitive Drug Testing LCDs Retired
Check out our May lab news roundup for a breakdown of how remote review of digital lab data will be impacted by the end of the COVID Public Health Emergency. We also explore some recent developments for definitive drug testing LCDs that sought to cap the total number of targets for which labs can be reimbursed.
2. Combination of Fentanyl and Xylazine Marked as Emerging Threat
Toxicology labs and pain management providers should be on alert for the combination of fentanyl and xylazine after the?White House recently designated the mixture of these drugs?as an emerging threat to the United States.
In response, Lighthouse has?developed?a method and successfully completed validation. The method is ready to be customized at your site, giving labs the ability to test for this analyte and help better monitor the use and spread of the drug combination.
3. Lighthouse Strengthens Management Offerings with Acquisition of Pathology Lab Solutions
Founded in 2008, Pathology Lab Solutions helps physician practices establish in-office pathology labs by advising on the entire lab design, set-up, and ongoing compliance processes. The move allows Lighthouse to strengthen its position as the nation’s leading laboratory consulting firm by providing a new pathology-specific management offering.
4. The Most Cost-Effective Hire for Your Clinical Lab
领英推荐
Having a director for your high-complexity CLIA lab is a requirement, but did you know that a part-time lab director could be an appropriate option and significantly shrink your overhead costs?
In the current market, a full-time lab director typically commands more than $200,000 in annual salary, but some lab directors earn as much as $350,000-$400,000 per year. On the other hand, a part-time lab director is generally compensated between $20,000-$40,000 per year.
RCM NEWS AND TIPS
1. Denial Spotlight:?Watch for Shifts in COVID Testing Pay Ratio as Emergency Ends
Our current client data for COVID testing reflects a 90% pay ratio, according to our?RCM Spotlight?denial analysis tool. However, with U-Codes for high-throughput testing now rendered obsolete by the expiration of the Public Health Emergency, we're examining how that pay ratio could be impacted by the shift back to 87635 for all testing.
2. Why Mastering the Front End is Crucial to Lab RCM
Laboratories have been in a whirlwind since the COVID pandemic started in 2019. Now that we have?reached the end of the pandemic?and the Public Health Emergency, laboratories need to work on tightening up their RCM processes.
Laboratories have been in a whirlwind since the COVID pandemic started in 2019. Now that we have?reached the end of the pandemic?and the Public Health Emergency, laboratories need to work on tightening up their revenue cycle management (RCM) processes.
Deep Dive: NY State Lab Directors Could Oversee More Facilities Under Proposed Rules
New York State recently?proposed several amendments?to regulations regarding laboratory directors (LDs), including moves that would impact the number of laboratories they can oversee and the frequency of their on-site presence.
Check out our blog for a closer look at the changes and what they mean for lab directors overseeing New York-licensed labs if they go into effect later this year.
In this article, we cover:
“Currently, the process for qualifying for reduced lab director on-site frequency will be determined on a case-by-case basis. In our experience, CLEP representatives will weigh several factors, including NY sample volume, number of different specialties tested in-house, qualifications of other on-site staff, etc. to determine if reduced on-site involvement of the LD is appropriate.” -- Tara Luellen, Vice President of Lab Director Services, Lighthouse
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1 年Every month this newsletter gets better and better! Great job on it Alex Mitchell, and thanks for sharing it on LinkedIn.