COVER STORIES

The first decade of the 21^st Century was a transformative for lab medicine, with many innovations and scientific advances. What will the next 10 years bring? CLN asked experts to reflect on the past and future of the field.

Test Reimbursement in 2010
Why the Devil is in the Details
By Bill Malone

Despite the 4.5% increase to the lab fee schedule in 2009, experts are cautioning that labs should expect more scrutiny and belt tightening from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services in 2010. The 2010 fee schedule does include better payment for some tests; however, with CMS trying out new methods to audit and deny claims, labs will have to pay attention to the details and document carefully.

SERIES ARTICLE

Lyme Disease
Finding the Balance of Diagnostic Testing and Clinical Disease Features
By Glen T. Hansen, PhD, and Shulamith C. Bonham, MD

Diagnosis of Lyme disease remains difficult because clinical manifestations of the disease are easily confused with other illnesses. Laboratorians need to help clinicians understand the limitations of current testing methods when making a diagnosis.

NEWS BRIEF

PATIENT SAFETY FOCUS

Lost Versus Misplaced Samples
Improving Lab Quality with Pull Measures
By Bonnie Messinger and Peggy Ahlin

Patient safety experts discuss methods to reduce the number of lost samples and improve overall lab performance.

To Err is Human
Using Crew Resource Management to Reduce Errors in the Lab
An Interview with James Hernandez, MD, MS

Crew resource management, a technique used to improve communication among team members, is now finding practical applications in healthcare and lab settings.

Mislabeled Specimens
When Should Relabeling of Mislabeled Specimens be Allowed?
Should Relabeling be Noted in the Medical Record?
Michael Astion, MD, PhD

A Q&A with a patient safety expert on how to ensure that samples are identified before they are processed by the lab.

PROFILES