Live Calls

Final COVID Live Call on June 24th, but On Demand Archives Will Remain for Future Downloads

Thank you so much for participating in our twice-weekly live calls, but now that the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is abating across the country as cases decline and vaccination rates continue to climb, we have decided to discontinue this service. Our final call (details below) will take place live on June 24th, but we will continue to keep the website live so you can access on demand recordings and other content.

With COVID, thankfully, becoming less of a challenge for our clinical lab and pathology colleagues, our call attendance has declined the past two months, and we have decided to deploy our team’s resources to other areas in an effort to bring you information, business intelligence and training designed to help make the business challenges of your job easier. We will always be grateful for your support of the calls and the COVID-19 STAT Intelligence Briefings site, which we launched back in May of 2020 to hopefully ease your burden during what were challenging times to be a manager of a clinical lab or pathology practice.

We’d also like to thank our partners at Taking Labs for the outstanding job they did in helping us with this service by bringing you more than 100 calls featuring leading industry experts. We also want to thank Telcor, which subsidized this service, making it easier for us to bring it to you. We couldn’t have brought this to you without them!

Sincerely,

Bob Croce, Executive Publisher, COVID-19 STAT Intelligence Briefings

 

Final Live Call

Thursday, June 24th, 2021, at Noon Eastern

Lessons Learned from COVID-19:  It is All About Diagnostics! 

Speaker: Mara Aspinall, Managing Director, BlueStone Venture Partners and Professor of Practice at Arizona State University

Key Learnings: Learn the history and the progression of COVID diagnostics; hear about the current state of COVID tests worldwide, including authorized tests and those in development; and understand the impact of diagnostics in the larger scope of healthcare, including COVID testing, vaccination, and treatment going forward. Register Now 

 

Streaming On Demand

Call 109, from 6/17/21: Implementing a High-Throughput SARS-CoV-2 Surveillance Program to Support University Operations

Speaker: Megan Jacob, MS, PhD, Director of Diagnostic Laboratories, Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, North Carolina State University

Key Learnings: Hear about considerations for choosing technology and establishing testing parameters for detection of asymptomatic and presymptomatic SARS-Cov-2. Discuss lessons of building a surveillance laboratory from scratch, including timeline and scalability. Explore future uses for the investment in robotic, high-throughput technology in a post COVID-19 era. Stream on Demand

 

Call 108, from 6/15/21: High Stakes SWOT for Labs Post-COVID: An Industry Veteran’s View on the Coming Black Swan

Speaker: Greg Stein, Co-Founder and CEO of Shadowbox

Key Learnings: Learn how relaxed federal, state, and local laws and regulation are likely to ‘snap back’ to a near pre-COVID reality. Hear how competition is likely to heat up due to the high number of new entrants into the industry during COVID. Understand the strategies that smart labs will use to not only survive, but thrive. Stream on Demand

 

Call 107, from 6/10/21: Telemedicine and The Clinical Laboratory–Pre and Post COVID-19

Speaker: Cindy Salas Murphy, CEO and Founder of WithHealth

Key Learnings: Learn the role of physicians via telemedicine in clinical oversight and workplace surveillance. Discover how tele-nursing improves sample collection for on-site labs. Understand how to utilize texting to optimize patient results reporting. Stream on Demand

 

Call 106, from 6/8/21: Meeting the Challenges of COVID-19 Testing: An Automated, Scalable, High-Throughput Approach to Addressing the Unpredictable Needs of Clinical Laboratories

Speaker: Elliot Shelton, General Manager, Amplitude Solution, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Key Learnings: Hear the story of answering the COVID-19 testing market’s need for secured supply of consumables and reagents for use on an automated, scalable, high-throughput testing platform. Gain an overview of the Amplitude testing solution workflow. Learn about the S-gene advantage with B.1.1.7, the role of the S-gene dropout, and the value of a targeted mutation panel as a reflex tool as follow up for a suspected clinical variant. Stream on Demand

 

Call 105, from 6/3/21: The Post-COVID Paradigm Shift: Point of Care Testing for the Laboratory

Speaker: Marci Dop, Former Lab CIO, Lab Industry Thought Leader, MHD Consulting

Key Learnings: Hear how COVID has accelerated the shift to point of care with the advent of at-home diagnostic kits, pop-up labs, and the need for testing in non-lab and non-healthcare settings. Understand how traditional testing performed in complex laboratories is moving closer to the patient and with rapid results. Learn how point of care testing is allowing for improved patient care and outcomes with quicker diagnosis. Discover how labs need to capture the transition to point of care testing from mass COVID testing. Stream on Demand

 

Call 104, from 6/1/21: No call held.

 

Call 103, from 5/27/21: Stat RT-PCR COVID-19 Testing with Nanopore Technology

Speaker: Denise McGrath, Scientific Manager, Biochemistry R&D, and Paul Marr, Chief Commercial Officer of Ontera

Key Learnings: Learn how nanopore technology enables highly sensitive and specific results in about 30 minutes. Discover the science behind the soon-to-be-available NanoDetector POC RT-PCR instrument. Understand future capabilities and applications around quantitation and multiplexing with near-patient nanopore technology. Stream on Demand

 

Call 102, from 5/25/21: Evolving from the Pandemic: A Mini Review of Lab Operations

Speaker: Maureen Harte, MT(ASCP), President, HartePro Consulting

Key Learnings: Understand how process waste may have increased as a result of actions taken during the pandemic. Recognize the outcomes of unidentified process waste in lab operations. Identify opportunities in your operations to pinpoint and reduce waste. Stream on Demand

 

Call 101, from 5/20/21: COVID Testing and the Pandemic: Lessons Learned and a Lens Into the Future

Speaker: William G. Morice, II, MD, PhD, Chair, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic Laboratories

Key Learnings: Understand the differences in demand between COVID diagnostic testing and serologic testing and the cause for this difference. Learn about the relevance of this difference for COVID viral sequencing assays. Hear how the landscape for clinical testing has been altered by the pandemic, or not. Stream on Demand

 

Call 100, from 5/18/2021: High-Throughput, Low-Cost Testing with Same-Day Turnaround Time for Community  COVID-19 Testing

Speaker: Laura Wand, Chief Commercial Officer at ShieldT3 and Kimberly Zunker,  MBA, MLS(ASCP)CM, Consulting Manager, Accumen 

Key Learnings: Learn about high-volume, low-cost community and school  COVID-19 testing. Explore the journey and lessons learned in the development of LTD testing for COVID-19. Discover what is next in the trajectory of the pandemic as testing demand shifts with the vaccine rollout. Stream on Demand

Call 99, from 5/13/21: How A Small Lab Successfully Pivoted During the Pandemic with the Introduction of Molecular Diagnostics Automation for COVID-19 Testing

Speaker: Aaron Rossi, MD, CEO of Reditus Laboratories LLC

Key Learnings: Learn how a small dermatopathology lab quickly ramped up SARS-CoV2 testing by RT-PCR to benefit its client base. Understand how this lab developed a multiplex RT-PCR assay using RNaseP as internal clinical control and pathogen extraction testing for Influenza A, Influenza B, and SARS-CoV2. Explore how this lab approached COVID-19 variant gene testing utilizing next generation sequencing and COVIDSEQ assay to identify key variants. Stream on Demand

Call 98, from 5/11/21: Post COVID-19 Phlebotomy Market Trends and Utilizing LabFly to Meet Tomorrow’s Demand

Speaker: Chris Zavala, Assistant Vice President of Clinical Support Operations, Northwell Health Labs, Northwell Health

Key Learnings: Review how the post COVID-19 economy reopening has shifted phlebotomy demand. Navigate the convenience economy and how labs are impacted. Discuss the future of in-home lab services via LabFly, linking together different parts of the at-home patient experience. Stream on Demand

 

Call 97, from 5/6/21: Surveillance and Screening Testing for COVID-19: The Next Step Your Lab Needs to Take

Speaker:  Jon Harol, President, Lighthouse Lab Services

Key Learnings: Learn how to differentiate between surveillance testing and screening testing. Understand the reduced laboratory costs for pooled testing. Hear about government subsidized testing in school systems. Discuss reimbursement best practices. Stream on Demand

 

Call 96, from 5/4/21: End-to-End Technology With Testing is Key to Opening Up International Air Travel After COVID

Speakers: Joseph Gonzalez, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, Healthcare Practice SiriusIQ, and Jeff Banet, Vice President of Connectivity Sales at ELLKAY

Key Learnings: Understand how to achieve wide-scale testing to return to normalcy for international travel. Learn about  industry partnerships between TrustAssure and ELLKAY with the goal of connecting international travelers to testing labs. Explore how a  system of delivering verified, secure testing results may restore traveler confidence in taking an international journey and help governments gain comfort with opening their borders. Stream on Demand

 

Call 95, from 4/29/21: Genomics of SARS-CoV-2

Speaker: Alex Greninger, MD, PhD, MS, MPhil, Assistant Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Assistant Director, Virology Division, University of Washington 

Key Learnings: Learn about the approaches for sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 genomes. Understand the methods of interpreting SARS-CoV-2 sequencing data. Hear about the regulatory approaches to sequencing SARS-CoV-2 genomes. Stream on Demand

 

Call 94, from 4/27/21: Managing a Reference Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory During a Pandemic

Speaker: Adam Barker, PhD, Director of the ARUP Institute for Clinical and Experimental Pathology® 

Key Learnings: Understand the importance of redundant testing platforms. Discover how imagination and innovation can drive better testing outcomes. Discuss the importance of internal and external supply chain. Stream on Demand

 

Call 93, from 4/22/21: Getting Paid for COVID-19 Testing: State Law Requirements

Speaker: Paul Garcia, Attorney, Hooper, Lundy & Bookman, P.C.

Key Learnings: Discuss the importance of complying with state laws in the state in which your lab is physically located, as well as states in which you are “doing business.” Analyze state facility and personnel licensing requirements, separate from CLIA. Explore whether your lab can accept cash payment or cost-sharing for COVID-19 testing. Stream on Demand

 

Call 92, from 4/20/21: Keeping Pace with the COVID-19 Pandemic- Legal Updates in 2021

Speaker: Danielle Holley Tangorre, Partner, O’Connell & Aronowitz Law

Key Learnings: Learn about the considerations of serial screening for employee and school testing. Hear what you need to know about The CURES Act. Gain insights into the considerations and compliance for direct-to-consumer testing. Stream on Demand

 

Call 91, from 4/15/21: Supply Chain Reset: Applying Lessons Learned From This Pandemic to Better Prepare for Future Disruptions

Speaker: Eric Jurinic, VP Supply Chain, and Jeremy Wilneff, Director Supply Chain, Accumen

Key Learnings: Learn about supply chain mapping and agility in procurement. Hear about strategies for local sourcing. Understand the importance of asking for help and not letting the perfect get in the way of the good. Stream on Demand

 

Call 90, from 4/13/21: Lessons Learned from Rapid Retooling of a Cancer NGS Lab for Regional COVID19 Variant Surveillance

Speaker: Paraic Kenny, PhD, Director of Kabara Cancer Research Institute

Key Learnings: Discuss the role of viral genome sequencing in epidemiology and public health. Examine the applications for staff and patients in a large healthcare system.  Evaluate the role of these techniques in diagnosing reinfections, vaccine resistant substrains, and emerging variants of concern. Streaming on Demand

 

Call 89, from 4/8/21: COVID-19 Variants: What Are They and What Do They Mean for Clinical Labs, Vaccination, and Getting Back to Normal?

Speaker: Joel Lefferts, PhD, PhD, HCLD, DABCC, Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Key Learnings: Describe the various types of SARS-CoV-2 variants that have emerged. Understand the potential impact of these variants on clinical testing, disease transmission, vaccination efforts, and the future of the pandemic. Explain ways your clinical lab may be able to help in state, national, and global efforts to better understand and respond to SARS-CoV-2 variants. Stream on Demand

 

Call 88, from 4/6/21: Genetic Variant Primer for COVID-19 and Lab Testing Moving Forward

Speaker: Nancy Rector, COO of UDo Test

Key Learnings: Understand SARS-CoV-2 variant classifications and definitions. Gain awareness of up-to-date variant presence in the US. Understand the SARS-CoV-2 variants’ impact on clinical lab testing today and changes for future testing. Stream on Demand

 

Call 87, from 4/1/21: Managing Your COVID-19 Data with Laboratory Analytics: Findings, Trends, and Real-World Data Management Solutions

Speaker: Tom Joseph, CEO of Visiun

Key Learnings: Learn how laboratories are using analytics to navigate common challenges experienced during COVID-19 and how they are managing their data. Analyze COVID-19 hospital laboratory trends based on aggregated data, including test volume trends, percent positive IDN trends, and proportion of COVID-19 antigen tests by vendor since testing began in March 2020. Identify real-world data management strategies to proactively address current scenarios facing laboratories (laboratory customer examples will be shared). Stream on Demand

 

Call 86, from 3/30/21: High-throughput COVID-19 Testing with CRISPR

Speakers: Janice Chen, PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, and Xin Miao, Director of Assay Development at Mammoth, Mammoth Biosciences

Key Learnings: Learn how the gene editing tool CRISPR has been repurposed for molecular diagnostics. Hear about the development of Mammoth Biosciences’s CRISPR-based DETECTR BOOST SARS-CoV-2 Reagent Kit. Understand the capabilities of DETECTR BOOST as a high-throughput COVID testing workstation for laboratories. Stream on Demand

 

Call 85, from 3/25/21: Wellness for Humanity Vending Machines: COVID-19 Collection Kits for Consumer Purchase on Demand 

Speakers: Eric Jurinic, VP Supply Chain for Accumen and Meta Lab DX, and Lian Nguyen Pham, CEO and Co-Founder, Wellness 4 Humanity

Key Learnings: Discover why and how COVID-19 testing is moving from the lab to the individual consumer. Learn about  DIY COVID-19 rapid antigen saliva collection kits available for consumer purchase in public spaces via vending machines. Discover how the consumer testing model promotes wellness and is a key surveillance strategy post vaccine. Stream on Demand

 

Call 84, from 3/23/21: The Role of Neutralizing Antibody Testing Post Vaccine

Speaker: Jon Harol, President, Lighthouse Lab Services

Key Learnings: Understand how neutralizing antibodies differ from other antibodies. See the benchmarking neutralizing antibody levels over time. Learn about the need for a neutralizing antibody titer. Stream on Demand

 

 

Call 83, from 3/18/21: Pooled Orders and Results Automation for COVID-19

Speaker: Amanda Caudle, Director, Product Management, Sunquest 

Key Learnings: Weigh the pros and cons of pooled testing for a given population/outbreak. Uncover the benefits of proper use of pooled testing, including increased turnaround time, bulk order processing, and more efficient use of resources. Consider important features of pooling automation, including LIS connectivity, pool protection, test validation, and support for compliant reporting. Stream on Demand

 

Call 82, from 3/16/21: Impact of Emerging Novel SARS-CoV-2 Variants on Clinical Diagnostic Tests: Challenges, Possible Solutions, and New Directions

Speaker: Varsha Meghnani, PhD, NRCC, ASCP, Laboratory Director, Lighthouse Lab Services

Key Learnings: Learn about the common SARS-Cov-2 variants and their characteristics. Understand the effects of the variants on molecular diagnostic testing. Review the possible solutions to avoid false diagnostic results due to the variants. Hear how the testing strategies might change in the near future. Stream on Demand

 

Call 81, from 3/11/21: COVID-19 Genetic Mutations: How They Will Impact Testing Sensitivity and Accuracy

Speaker: Iain MacLeod, PhD, CEO and CoFounder of Aldatu Biosciences

Key Learnings: Learn how mutations arise in SARS-CoV-2 and why they affect molecular diagnostics. Understand if diagnostic manufacturers anticipated virus mutations. Hear what corrective actions have to be taken when virus mutations arise that affect diagnostic testing. Stream on Demand

 

Call 80, from 3/9/21: Understanding the Current Drop in Daily Number of SARS-CoV-2 Tests and Likely Paths Forward
What’s your lab’s bet on COVID-19 molecular test volumes in coming months? More? Less?

Speaker: Robert L. Michel, Editor-in-Chief, The Dark Report

Key Learnings: Compare different and credible data sets on daily and weekly COVID-19 test volume in the United States. Relate changes in molecular SARS-CoV-2 testing numbers to daily new COVID-19 cases and deaths. Explain the most likely pandemic scenarios going forward to use in your lab’s strategic planning. Stream on Demand

 

Call 79, from 3/4/21: Reclaiming the Air:  Current and Future Plans for Airlines to Make Air Travel Safer

Speaker: Tony Iannitelli, Clinical Representative of Intelligent Solutions of NJ, LLC for TrustAssure

Key Learnings: Review steps already taken to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Review the current status among airlines, airports, and countries with regard to COVID-19 testing regulations. Look at near-future and future testing strategies and capabilities. Stream on Demand

 

Call 78, from 2/25/21: What to Expect from The Joint Commission’s Laboratory Accreditation Program in 2021

Speaker: Heather Hurley, Executive Director Laboratory Accreditation at The Joint Commission

Key Learnings: Learn the current status of The Joint Commission Laboratory Surveys. Hear about the key benefits of The Joint Commission’s Laboratory Accreditation Program. Understand what sets The Joint Commission apart from other laboratory accreditors. Stream on Demand

 

Call 77, from 2/25/21: COVID-19 Variants: Impact on Transmission, Vaccines and Testing

Speaker: Matthew J. Binnicker, Ph.D. D(ABMM), Director of Clinical Virology, Vice Chair of Practice, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic

Key Learnings: Discuss how SARS-CoV-2 variants emerge. Review the known, clinically-relevant SARS-CoV-2 variants and highlight their impact on transmission rates and vaccine efficacy. Highlight how laboratories and diagnostic test manufacturers work to ensure that variants are detected. Stream on Demand

 

Call 76, from 2/23/21: Using Your Megaphone to Influence COVID-19 Laboratory Policies 

Speaker: Erin Will Morton, MA, Senior Vice President, CRD Associates

Key Learnings: Discuss the importance of labs engaging in policy advocacy around reimbursement issues. Understand the quick moving legislative and regulatory landscape during the pandemic. Learn what your lab can do to raise awareness of the challenges you face in the COVID-19 response. Stream on Demand

 

Call 75, from 2/18/21: Being Inspected Virtually: Demonstrating CAP Accreditation Compliance in an Electronic World

Speaker: Denise Driscoll, Senior Director, Laboratory Accreditation and Regulatory Affairs, College of American Pathologists (CAP)

Key Learnings: Describe eligibility requirements for a virtual inspection. Identify applications to facilitate remote document review. Identify the need and requirements for an onsite inspection. Stream on Demand

 

Call 74, from 2/16/21: Laboratory/Pathology Revenue Changes for 2021: Don’t Be Caught by Surprise with Anticipated Shifts in Market Fundamentals

Speaker: Mick Raich, CEO of Vachette

Key Learnings: Learn about laboratory revenue projections for COVID-19 for 2021 and how you can benefit from the testing momentum. Understand the market forces around billing and insurance positions and how you can appropriately respond to their narrative. Explore your options to maximize your COVID-19 revenue modalities in the midst of constant change. Stream on Demand

Call 73, from 2/11/21: Navigating FDA, EUA, and CLIA Regulatory Pathways During the Pandemic: Unique Perspectives from a Joint Diagnostic Manufacturer and CLIA Lab

Speaker: Iain MacLeod, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder, Aldatu Biosciences

Key Learnings: Learn about FDA EUA application submission and challenges from the perspective of a small company. Hear more about how test manufacturers can better support CLIA lab customers: best practices. Learn from Aldatu’s path, starting as a test manufacturer and evolving into a manufacturer with CLIA lab facilities. Stream on Demand

 

Call 72, from 2/9/21: Washington Update:  COVID-19 Testing and Pandemic Response

Speaker: Julie Khani, President of ACLA

Key Learnings: Learn about the key components of the Biden administration’s national strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness. Understand policy changes that can be made through executive action versus Congress. Hear about policy recommendations of laboratories and other stakeholders. Stream On Demand

 

Call 71, from 2/4/21: Mobile Labs Increase COVID-19 Testing Where and When Customers Need It

Speakers: Joe Sgherza, CEO, and Vicki Chilton, Chief of Staff, Integrum Scientific

Key Learnings: Learn about an innovative mobile lab model that is fully customized to provide on-site COVID-19 laboratory testing and services in remote and challenged areas. Hear about how a mobile lab facility can augment any lab’s capacity to increase COVID-19 testing during a pandemic or high volume surges. Understand how one lab deployed the mobile lab model and how they mitigated risk to increase their COVID-19 testing throughput. Stream On Demand

 

Call 70, from 2/2/21: Understanding the Pandemic’s Influence on Clinical Laboratory Testing and Financial Stability During 2021 and Beyond

Speaker: Robert L. Michel, Editor-in-Chief, The Dark Report

Key Learnings: Understand the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic and its relationship to the current influenza season. Assess the predictions of lab leaders and global management experts on how the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak will unfold in 2021 and 2022. Explore what are expected to be permanent changes in the U.S. healthcare system because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn how clinical laboratory operations and testing services will evolve in during 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and be different when compared to the pre-pandemic era. Stream On Demand

 

Call 69, from 1/28/21: How High Throughput COVID-19 Testing Was Achieved by Partnering End-to-End Technology with Testing Instrumentation

Speakers: Marci Dop, Former CIO and Lab Industry Expert, MHD Management Consulting and Kevin Hayes, PhD, Global Lead Data Science and Informatics Strategic Initiatives and Communication, Research Laureate, Corteva

 Key Learnings: Hear how instrumentation allows for automation of processes in order to achieve a high throughput lab for infectious disease testing for COVID-19, Understand that the key to high throughput with low cost is dependent on patient self-service registration and self-collection, Learn how results processing can include state reporting and patient results notification for COVID-19 infections. Stream On Demand

 

Call 68, from 1/26/21: Tele-Lab: The Future of At-Home Testing for COVID-19 Testing and Beyond

Speaker: Eric Gastfriend, Co-Founder and CEO, DynamiCare Health

Key Learnings: Understand the challenges faced by healthcare stakeholders for at-home COVID-19 testing; Gain insights into the advancements of at-home-testing and the impact on the laboratory and healthcare facilities; Learn about the role technology plays in facilitating at-home COVID-19 testing and how labs can participate in the testing at-home revolution. Stream On Demand

 

Call 67, from 1/21/21: Accurate COVID-19 Lab Billing: How to Weather the Storm and Prepare for the Future

Speaker: Jim O’Neill, Business Development Manager Laboratory Services. Advanced Data Systems Corporation

Key Learnings: Understand how to submit COVID-19 HCPCS billing for codes U0003 and U0004 with add-on code U0005 to earn higher payments; Learn how to manage and maximize your revenue profitability through prompt reporting for high throughput COVID-19 testing; Explore recommendations on how to effectively manage your financial reporting for COVID-19 billing in relation to your regular business. Stream On Demand

Call 66,  from 1/19/21: How the Covid-19 Pandemic is Affecting the Pathology Job Market

Speaker: Rich Cornell, President of Sante Consulting, LLC

Key Learnings: Learn what the pathology job market looked like before the pandemic, during the initial shut down and the current state of the job market; Understand how the changing times have affected the ability to recruit experienced pathologists; Hear how the virtual interview environment impacts the hiring of pathologists. Stream On Demand

 

Call 65, from 1/14/21: The importance of Infection Prevention and OSHA Compliance for Employee Protection in the Time of COVID-19

Speaker: Marge McFarlane, PhD, MT(ASCP), CJCP, CHSP, CHFM, MEP, HEM, Superior Performance Consultants, LLC

Key Learnings:  Identify who is covered  under the state and federal OSHA Requirements; Learn how to reduce the risk of handling of COVID-19 Specimens; Discuss the hierarchy of OSHA controls for employee safety; Learn about the updated information on disinfectants and hand hygiene products; Review OSHA’s respiratory protection program. Stream On Demand

 

Call 64, from 1/12/21: Leveraging NYC Sexual Health Clinic Network to Support COVID-19 Pandemic Response

Speaker: Jennifer L. Rakeman, Ph.D., Assistant Commissioner and Laboratory Director, Public Health Laboratory, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Key Learning Points: Understand how rapid, near-patient, laboratory-based diagnostic testing benefits patients and public health; Describe a model for this testing in the context of sexual health; Learn how this model system and the resources and infrastructure can pivot to respond to public health emergencies. Stream On Demand

Call 63, from 1/7/21: Use of CRISPR Technology in SARS-CoV-2 Detection

Speaker: Frederick Kiechle, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer, Boca Biolistics Reference Lab

Key Learnings: Identify and describe the steps in performing the CRISPR SARS-Co-V-2 assay; Learn about the function of the caspase during a CRISPR assay; Understand how to report the LoD for CRISPR SARS-CoV-2 analysis in comparison to the RT-PCR assay. Stream On Demand

Call 62, from 1/5/21: COVID-19 Testing Projections for 2021: Explore the Challenges of Meeting the Virus Trajectory While Keeping Pace with Supply Chain and Laboratory Personnel Shortages

Speaker: Kimberly Zunker,  MBA, MLS(ASCP)CM, Consulting Manager, Accumen

Key Learnings: Explore the state of lab testing going into 2021 and the challenges of meeting virus trajectory, surges and shift to population-scaled antigen and antibody testing; Understand the supply chain and lab personnel shortage challenges ahead to keep pace with diagnostic demand. Stream On Demand

 

Call 60, from 12/22/20: COVID-19 Testing Reimbursement: Update For 2021

Speaker: Danielle Sloane, Partner, Bass, Berry & Sims, PLC

Key Learnings: Learn about the January 1, 2021 Medicare COVID-19 Testing Payment Modification and Add-ons;  Understand the documentation support for COVID-19  turn-around-times for high throughput testing; Gain insights on the Impacts on commercial payors: are they following suite?; Identify the  Status Update on FDA EUAs – Is there any value left in an EUA for laboratory developed tests? Stream On Demand

Call 59, from 12/17/20: COVID-19 Lessons Learned – Financial, Operational and HR

Speaker: Cory Roberts, Chairman and CEO of ProPath

Key Learnings: Learn about the key cash conservation steps businesses can take during the era of COVID-19; Gain insights and perspective about the methods and modes of appropriate crisis messaging to build trust during a pandemic; Understand the appropriate employee critical safety measures in a challenging physical distancing healthcare environment. Stream On Demand

Call 58, from 12/15/20: Strategic Reimbursement Strategies for COVID-19 Testing Including Medical Necessity Considerations and CPT Code Optimization

Speakers: Irene Torres, Senior Director, Pathology and Laboratory Operations and Leigh Polk, Marketing and Business Support Services, Change Healthcare

Key Learnings: Discover common causes for commercial and governmental payors denying COVID-19 related testing; Learn how payors are now defining “medically necessary” testing for COVID-19; Identify new CPT Codes, potential audits, and regulations impacting reimbursement related to COVID-19 testing. Streaming On Demand

Call 57, from 12/10/20: What Labs Need to Know to Set up Mobile Phlebotomy Services for COVID-19  Testing

Speaker: Chris Zavala, Senior Director, New Business Development, Northwell Health

Key Learnings: Hear how labs can grow their phlebotomy services program during the pandemic; Learn how one lab expanded their home phlebotomy services to meet an unexpected and high demand for COVID-19 testing; Understand the key considerations in developing or growing a home phlebotomy business.  Stream On Demand

Call 56,  from 12/8/2020: The Possible Intriguing Link Between Vitamin D and Its Use for COVID-19 Infections

Speaker: Bruce Hollis, PhD, Medical University of South Carolina

Key Learnings: Understand the appropriate intake and safety of vitamin D; Learn about the metabolism and immune effects of vitamin D to mitigate COVID-19 infections outcomes; Identify high-risk individuals and the racial inequities of a COVID-19 infection incident; Explore the potential use of vitamin D in prevention and treatment of COVID-19 infections. Stream On Demand

 

Call 55, from 12/3/20: FLUVID (COVID 19, Flu A, Flu B) Testing at UCLA Health

Speakers: Omai Garner, PhD, D(ABMM), Director, Clinical Microbiology and Associate Clinical Professor, UCLA Health System; Michelle Tabb, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, DiaSorin Molecular

Key Learnings:  Describe the challenge of COVID-19 PCR testing on multiple platforms; Detail the process of converting from COVID-19, influenza testing in a clinical microbiology laboratory;  Identify challenges for the clinical microbiology laboratory in the upcoming respiratory virus season. Stream On Demand

Call 54, from 12/1/20: Convalescent Plasma and COVID, an old remedy for a new malady

Speaker:  William G. Morice, II, MD, PhD, Chair, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic Laboratories

Key Learnings:  Understand the concept of passive immunity; Learn the history of passive immunity and how it has been used to treat infectious diseases, Learn about the Expanded Access Program for COVID19 convalescent plasma and current state of convalescent plasma in COVID19 treatment. Stream On Demand

 

Call 53, from 11/24/20: 2020 Fourth Quarter Revenue Update: Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Laboratory

Speaker: Mick Raich, CEO, Vachette Pathology 

Key Learnings: Hear the latest ‘state of the union’ information on laboratory billing and how it’s been impacted by the pandemic; Learn the about the CMS fee schedule updates for COVID-19 and how this could impact your laboratory payment and timing; Understand the PREP Act concerns, HRSA Portal issues, common billing errors and 2021 audit considerations for COVID-19 testing. Stream On Demand

Call 52, from 11/19/20: Saliva COVID-19 PCR Testing – Improvement on the Yale Methodology to be ‘Extractionless’ – Reduces Lab Costs 

Speaker: Jon Harol, President, Lighthouse Lab Services

Key Learnings: Learn the science behind the PCR ‘extractionless’ saliva COVID-19 testing methods available on the market; Understand the benefits of the PCR ‘extractionless’ saliva testing method for COVID-19 that result in reductions in lab workflow steps and improvement in supply chain stability; Identify the testing tradeoffs using the PCR ‘extractionless’ method for COVID-19 that may impact the positive detection window and specimen stability.

Stream On Demand

Call 51, from 11/17/20: COVID-19 Reimbursement: Best Practices and Pitfalls to Avoid

Speaker: Jim O’Neill, Business Development Manager, Lab Services, Advanced Data Systems Corp

Key Learnings: Learn how to optimize billing claims and revenue capture for COVID-19 on the first submission attempt; Explore how to maximize both revenue efficiency and workflow with COVID-19 impacting your current operations; Gain insights on how to operate seamlessly using intelligently automated connectivity with the LIS.  Stream On Demand

Call 50, from 11/12/20: Part A and Performance Incentives in the Era of COVID-19, including use cases specific for COVID-19

Speaker: Robert Tessier,  President and Panelist for the Panel of National Pathology Leaders

Key Learnings: Learn about opportunities to structure value-based Part A performance incentives in a hospital contract; Understand how these arrangements are grouped by clinical and management deliverables and include specific calculations on how to quantify each result; See how actual experience is used to put this new income in context with current Part A support. Stream On Demand

Call 49, from 11/10/20: Coding the CPT-Matrix of COVID-19 Diagnostics?

Speaker: Joe Lennerz, MD, PhD, Associate Chief of the Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Associate Professor of Pathology, Harvard Medical School

Key Learnings: Understand the new Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes created to streamline the medical classification of the novel coronovirus for various laboratory testing methods; Learn about the new and revised CPT codes specific for SARS-CoV2 for clarification of reporting of infectious agent antigen testing; Explore the new CPT codes for combined respiratory virus multi-testing for SARS-CoV2 with influenza A/B and RSV. Stream On Demand

Call 48, from 11/5/20: Diving into Interoperability Aspects of Pooled COVID-19 Testing

Speaker: Andrea Pitkus, PhD, MLS(ASCP)CM, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Key Learning Points: Learn what three types of testing can be performed as pooled testing; Compare the two approaches to pooled testing and their mapping and reporting aspects; Describe specifications of HHS and public health (regulatory) compliant COVID-19 reporting and messaging. Stream On Demand

Call 47, from 11/3/20: Steep Rise in Number of Daily New Cases of COVID-19 as Flu Season Begins: What Does this Portend for Clinical Labs through 2020 into 2021?

Speaker: Robert L. Michel, Editor-in-Chief, The Dark Report

Key Learnings: Review of the recent rise in the number of daily new cases of SARS-CoV-2 compared to the daily number of deaths from COVID-19; What major lab organizations are projecting for the demand for COVID-19 lab tests during the balance of 2020 and into 2021; How the healthcare and clinical laboratory markets are changing permanently because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stream On Demand

Call 46, from 10/29/20: How to Develop a COVID-19 Employee Testing Program: What Clinical Laboratories Need to Know

Speakers: Rick Cooper, Co-Chair, National Healthcare Practice Group, McDonald Hopkins; Liz Sullivan, Co-Chair, National Healthcare Practice Group, McDonald Hopkins

Key Learnings: Learn about the importance of having a well-developed written agreement for COVID-19 employee testing programs; Understand the need for appropriate employee consent and waiver forms; Hear observations from labs that were the first to offer COVID-19 employee testing outreach programs in the spring and summer.  Stream On Demand

Call 45, from 10/27/20: PCR and Serology for COVID-19: Trick or Treat?

Speaker: Joe Lennerz, MD, PhD, Associate Chief of the Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital

Key Learnings: Compare and contrast the PCR sensitivity for SARS-CoV-2 with serological assays sensitivity in days post symptom onset; Learn about COVID-19 symptomatic patients and the interpretation of their condition days post symptom onset; Understand why negative COVID-19 testing results do not completely preclude SARS-CoV-2 infection. Stream On Demand

Call 44, from 10/23/20: Call Applications of COVID-19 Tracking in Wastewater Using Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) Technology for the Advancement of Public Health

Speakers: Leanne Huysentruyt, PhD, Molecular Diagnostics Segment Manager, Americas, Bio-Rad Laboratories; Rachel Noble, PhD, Distinguished Professor at UNC Chapel Hill Institute of Marine Sciences; Mark Ciesielski, Graduate Student, UNC at Chapel Hill

Key Learnings: Examine the importance of COVID-19 wastewater surveillance for reducing the strain on key testing resources and its future in public health management; Gain insights on the performance of droplet digital PC molecular testing platforms for wastewater testing; Learn the importance of proper controls used for COVID-19 for waste water testing using the digital droplet technology. Stream On Demand

 

Call 43, from 10/20/20: How the COVID-19 National Volunteer Scientist Database Assists Labs and Companies to Find and Deploy Scientists for Testing Support and Expert Advice

Speakers: Michael Wells, PhD, Co-Director, COVID 19 National Scientist Volunteer Database; Shannon Kozlovich, PhD, Communications Director, COVID-19 National Scientist Volunteer Database

Key Learnings: Learn about the database of 9,400 scientists across the US ready to volunteer for COVID-19 to provide scientific testing, bioinformatics, and data management support; Understand how the deployment of scientists has helped testing sites and laboratories meet their COVID-19 testing challenges; Identify how clinical diagnostic companies can gain access to the volunteer scientific database to augment their COVID-19 testing needs. Stream On Demand.

Call 41, from 10/13/20: COVID-19 Testing: Explaining Antigen and Antibody Testing Methodologies

Speaker: Kimberley Zunker, MBA, MLS, Consulting Manager, Accumen.

Key Learnings: Understand the different COVID-19 diagnostic and antibody testing benefits and uses; Gain insights into the performance characteristics of individual tests methodologies for COVID-19; Review how various COVID-19 test strategies can be used to ensure reliable results for your laboratory. Stream On Demand

 

Call 40, from 10/8/20: The Role of Key Informatics, Process Improvement and Multi-Disciplinary Collaborations in the Management of the COVID-19 Patient Response 

Speaker: Sachin Gupta, PhD, MBA, Laboratory Quality and Informatics Lead, Baycare Health Systems 

Key Learnings: Learn manage how to order the right test for the right patient suspected of a COVID-19 infection; Understand how data and information feeds into different information systems in a hospital organization for COVID-19 infections; Gain insights into effective and timely results notification to COVID-19 patients of their testing status; Explore how data and information are used in different reports for patient care management and predictive models. Stream On Demand

Call 39, from 10/6/20: How to Optimize Supply Chain Transportation and Management in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Speaker: Susan Uihlein, Senior VP Business Development, Lab Logistics

Key Learnings: Understand supply chain logistics for COVID-19 – tracking, reporting and chain of custody to minimize risk and control costs; Learn how technology was needed to provide flexible solutions to adapt to the changing COVID-19 testing demand for supplies and reagents; Explore how to improve and enhance your current structure to increase control and knowledge of supply replenishment for ‘just-in-time delivery.’

Stream On Demand

 

Call 38, from 10/1/20: Examining Excessive Blood Clotting for Severe COVID-19 Patient Cases

Speaker: Amy Rapkiewicz, MD, Chair of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, NYU Winthrop Hospital

Key Learnings: Classify and identify the major acute pathologic complications of COVID19 infection in severe fatal infections.; Correlate thrombotic manifestations of COVID 19 infections with potential pathologic mechanisms.; Explain potential pathophysiologic reasons for chronic complications following severe COVID19 infections. Stream On Demand

Call 37, from 9/29/20: Preparation and Recommendations for a COLA Virtual Lab Survey During COVID-19

Speakers: Kathy Nucifora, MPH, Chief Operating Officer at COLA; Susan Densford, MT, Director of Accreditation, COLA

Key Learnings: Learn how to prepare for a laboratory  “Virtual Survey” to meet your accreditation compliance; Identify and learn about qualification requirements and the three components of COLA’s virtual survey process; Evaluate and understand the advantages and disadvantages of the virtual survey approach. Stream On Demand

 

Call 36, from 9/24/20: Pandemic Response Case Study: TriCore Supports Long-Term Care Facilities and Detention Centers for Testing Services

Speaker: Robin Divine, Chief Business Development Officer, TriCore Reference Laboratories

Key Learnings: Explore the challenges in providing COVID-19 testing for special populations in a largely rural state; Discuss TriCore’s approach to serving these populations through leadership and partnership; Examine the evolution of TriCore’s COVID-19 testing approach in order to adjust to shifting guidelines and apply lessons learned. Stream On Demand

 

Call 35: from 9/22/20: LEAN Techniques for Supply Chain Management During COVID-19

Speaker: Maureen Harte, MT(ASCP), President, HartePro Consulting

Key Learnings: Learn about Value Stream principles to manage inventory from order to receipt into the laboratory during supply chain fluctuations and uncertainty; Understand how to use LEAN techniques to manage inventory once received into the laboratory to optimize inventory quality and availability; Identify how to simplify your inventory management to avoid over processing and adding non-value work applying the Eight Waste Lean principles. Stream On Demand

Call 34, from 9/18/20: Wisconsin Clinical Laboratory Network (WCLN): Partnership with Public Health for COVID-19 Collaboration

Speaker: Alana Sterkel, PhD, Assistant Director, Communicable Disease Division, Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene

Key Learnings: Understand the purpose and goals of the WCLN to coordinate COVID-19 testing to better serve Wisconsin residents; Gain insights about the best practices used for clinical and public lab collaboration to enhance the COVID-19 response; Lean how the WCLN can serve as model for other states to implement a coordinated laboratory network for COVID-19 and other public health concerns. Stream On Demand

Call 33, from 9/15/20: COVID-19 Impact on Pathology Lab Coding, Billing, Collection and Auditing

Speaker: Mick Raich, CEO, Vachette Pathology

Key Learnings: Review the impact of the COVID-19 on laboratory revenue stream; Identify how to identify account receivables that are aging abnormally due to the COVID-19 pandemic ramifications; Learn how to read a collection report and identify inconsistencies due to the COVID-19 revenue slow down. Stream On Demand

 

Call 32, from 9/10/20: AAB: COVID-19/SARS CoV-2 Proficiency Testing for the Smaller Laboratory 

Speaker: Eric Vanderslice, PhD, Technical Director, American Association of Bioanlysts Proficiency Testing

Key Learnings: Learn about the AAB COVID-19 proficiency program based on sample types, sources and types of testing methods; Gain insights about the AAB proficiency program best practices and constraints for COVID-19 testing; Review the regulatory requirements for proficiency testing under CLIA and CMS. Stream On Demand

 

Call 31, from 9/8/20: 3 Key Lab Compliance Policies During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency

Speaker: David Gee, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine, LLP

Key Learnings: Learn why and how labs should qualify for limited immunity under the PREP Act; Make sure your lab doesn’t overlook the CLIA fundamentals of a valid COVID-19 test order; Review why it’s (still) essential to assure and document medical necessity for COVID-19 testing billed to commercial and governmental payers. Stream On Demand

 

Call 30, from 9/3/20: Strategic Capacity Management for COVID-19 Testing using Project Management and Process Improvement Principles

Speakers: Tarun Mohan Lal, Chief of Planning, Navicent Health; Micheal Hajworonsky, VP, Lab Operations, Navicent Health 

Key Learnings: Identify and determine the requirements of multiple demand streams for COVID-19 tests and associated requirements; Optimize COVID-19 testing capacity using process improvement methods to be able to meet customer requirements using data based methodology; Framework for how to approach a multidisciplinary and complex process from concept to deployment quickly. Steam On Demand

Call 29, from 9/1/20: COVID 19 Pooled Testing – Group testing to improve efficiency in half the time while increasing lab capacity

Speaker: Peter C. Iwen, PhD, Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Key Learnings: Explain the process of COVID-19 sample pooling and the limitations to consider before implementation in the laboratory; Describe the principal goals in COVID-19 testing and define how group testing fits into an approach for testing; Illustrate the current FDA’s COVID-19 pooling strategy to meet regulatory standards and reporting. Stream On Demand

 

Call 28, from 8/27/20: SARS-CoV-2: A Primer on PCR Testing Methodology for COVID-19, Patient Infectivity Questions, and Advancements in Testing Approaches

Speaker: Matthew Binnicker, PhD, Mayo Clinic

Key Learnings: Discuss the intended use of molecular tests (e.g.,real-time PCR)  by gene and sample types for SARS-CoV-2; Review of common questions about the SARS-CoV-2 virus in regard to patient viral infectivity and time-based testing; Understand the latest technological advancements in molecular testing for SARS-CoV-2 using PCR and pooled testing methods. Stream On Demand

Call 27, from 8/25/20: Changing the Paradigm: How Specialty Labs can Break the C19 Test Bottleneck and Save the Country

Speakers: Greg Stein, CEO, Shadowbox; James Dieter, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Principle Health Systems; Andrea Barthwell, MD, DFAS, Former Director, US Office of Drug Control Policy

Key Learnings: Learn why concentrating patients at testing sites is inefficient vs. a tech-enabled crowdsourced distributed solution for COVID-19 specimen collection and testing; Discover how labs can build stronger customer relationships beyond COVID-19 to increase or replace lost revenue; Gain insights in why accurate and fast testing is even more important post pandemic to address clinical concerns. Stream On Demand

Call 26, from 8/20/20: How the LIMS Can Support the Workflow for Pooled Testing for COVID-19 to Increase Testing Capacity: A Case Study with UAB

Speakers:  Barry Wark, CEO and Founder, Ovation; Alexander Mackinnon, MD, PhD, Director, Division of Genomics Diagnostics and Bioinformatics, University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Key Learnings: Learn about pooled testing and how can it help augment COVID-19 testing; Understand why testing an asymptomatic population is important to control the virus spread; Gain insights on how engaging a LIMS partner could increase COVID-19 testing capacity: Case study with UAB. Stream on Demand

Call 25, from 8/18/20: Going Virtual: How Telehealth Is Impacting Hospital Labs  

Speakers: Sandy Richman, MBA, (ASCP), Director, Consultative Services, ARUP Laboratories; Andrew Fletcher, MD, CPE, MBA, Medical Director, Consultative Services, ARUP Laboratories

Key Learnings: Learn what is driving the acceleration of telehealth and if this trend is expected to continue beyond the  COVID-19 pandemic; Understand the challenges associated with collecting specimens associated with the telehealth visits; Gain an understanding of how hospital labs are responding to new care delivery models to ensure they are the lab of choice. Stream On Demand

Call 24, from 8/13/20: Updates from CAP regarding the Proficiency Program for SARS2-COVID-19 testing 

Speaker: Jennifer Van Dinther, Senior Manager, Marketing Programs, College of American Pathologists

Key Learnings: Understand the requirements for proficiency testing for SARS-CoV-2 testing for both molecular (COV2) and serology (COVS); Learn about the CAP’s proficiency testing programs for the detection of or exposure to the novel coronavirus to ensure the quality of your assay; Find out how the benefits of the CAP proficiency programs, how to order and where to access additional resources. Stream On Demand

Call 23, from 8/11/20: 5 Ways to Address Supply Chain Shortages Once and For All

Speakers: Brent Bolton, CPSM, MBA, VP/GM, Supply Chain Management, Accumen; Eric Jurinic, Vice President, Corporate Supply Chain, Accumen

Key Learnings: Learn lessons from the past to create a sustainable supply chain; Understand how to identify critical supply chain suppliers and product risk points; Identify how to diversify your product portfolio based on a critical needs analysis; Take charge of your supply chain from a short-term crisis response to a long-term plan to mitigate supply chain shortages; Discover how to optimize your supply chain approach- don’t let the perfect get in the way of the good. Stream On Demand

Call 22 from 8/6/20: Managing Your COVID-19 Data with Lab Analytics: Findings, Trends, Real-World Use Cases 

Speakers: Tom Joseph, CEO; Visiun; Tim Bickley, Vice President, Visiun

Key Learnings: Learn how laboratories are using analytics to navigate common challenges experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic; Understand the current COVID-19 hospital trends based on cumulative data since March 2020; Identify real-world COVID-19 workflow scenarios and the data management strategies used to optimize their improvement. Stream On Demand

Call 21 from 8/4/20: Emerging Research: Saliva Testing for COVID-19

Speaker: Nora Hess, MBA, MT(ASCP), Sr. Consultant, Accumen

Key Learnings: Learn about the advantages and disadvantages of testing saliva for COVID-19; Gain information about the potential savings in time and money associated with saliva testing for COVID-19; Hear about research efforts to validate saliva testing. Stream On Demand

Call 20 from 7/30/20: COVID-19 Reporting to HHS: Fast Breaking Changes and Updates

Featured Speaker: Andrea Pitkus,PhD, MLS(ASCP), Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin, School of Medicine and Public Health

Key Learnings: Understand the COVID-19 Reporting requirements to HHS for all types of COVID-19 testing; Learn how to gather key information in the Ask at Order Entry (AOE) process to support reporting criteria; Recognize the importance of the Universal Device Indicator (UDI) and how to use it in reporting to HHS; Identify the appropriate standards to be used for reporting COVID-19 testing to HHS. Stream On Demand

Call 19 from 7/28/20: How Labs Can Access Employer and Consumer Testing Markets for COVID-19 Testing to Generate Revenue

Featured speakers: Allison Martin, CEO, UDo Test and Nancy Rector, COO, UDo Test

Key Learnings: Hear how employers use UDoTest to facilitate testing at labs with excess capacity ; Learn what labs need to know to support employer COVID-19 testing; Understand how labs with excess capacity can be matched and can participate in COVID-19 national employee screening programs. Stream On Demand

Call 18 from 7/23/20: How Rapid-Prototyping Technologies Can Help Labs Create Data Dashboards that Enhance Operational Oversight of COVID-19 Testing

Featured Speaker: Ulysses G.J. Balis, MD, FCAP, FASCP, Professor of Pathology & Director, Division of Pathology Informatics, Director of Computational Pathology Laboratory Section, Department of Pathology, University of Michigan.  

Key Learnings: Learn what the University of Michigan gained from its rapid deployment of COVID-19 data dashboards, following four months of usage; Hear how rapid-prototyping technologies work to accelerated data dashboard development; Understand how real-time data dashboards are enhancing the lab’s operational oversight. Stream On Demand

Call No. 17 from 7/21/20: Publishing Pricing for COVID-19 Testing: What You Need to Know to Be Compliant and Avoid Inquiry

Featured Speaker: Danielle Holley Tangorre, Partner at O’Connell & Aronowitz Law, where she specializes in health law.

Key Learnings: Hear about the latest regulation requirements for laboratories and providers to post their COVID-19 test prices; Learn what are the steps labs and providers need to take to maintain compliance with these new regulations; Understand how to navigate these new requirements to avoid inquiry or penalty for noncompliance. Stream On Demand

Call No. 16 from 7/16/20:  Effective Strategies to Redeploy Lab Personnel with Excess Capacity during COVID-19 Surge

Featured Speaker:  Meghan Kirkle, Director of Human Capital at TriCore

Key Learnings: Learn how to effectively transition laboratory staff to critical need areas for priority functions or projects when testing volume is transitioned to high demand periods for COVID-19; Identify creative ways for lab staff to provide new and lasting value to laboratory services with influxes of lab testing volume as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; Explore how leadership provided lab staff with opportunities to develop specialty skills that can be repurposed on demand with surges in COVID-19 testing demand; Understand how to balance lab personnel staffing long-term in an uncertain environment. Stream On Demand

Call No. 15 from 7/14/20: COLA Helps Labs Get Answers: COVID-19 Testing, Changes to COLA Survey Process and More

Featured Speaker: Kathy Nucifora, Chief Operating Officer at COLA

Key Learnings: Understand how COLA supports laboratories that want to offer COVID-19 testing; Review COLA’s response to the pandemic; Hear how COLA’s laboratory survey process is changing now and what’s planned if the pandemic persists. Stream On Demand

Call 14 from 7/9/20: Rural Hospital Collaboration with Partner Regional Hospital to Coordinate COVID-19 Testing for Rapid Turnaround Time and Improved Patient Care 

Featured Speakers: Lorraine Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Monroe County Hospital, Navicent Health Partner; and Emily Ryan, PhD, Clinical Laboratory Scientific Director at

Key Learnings: Understand how a rural hospital employed creative solutions to transport COVID-19 specimens to reference lab testing sites to meet initial demand; Learn how a rural hospital coordinated testing with a partner hospital as COVID-19 testing volume increased to ensure testing availability and turnaround time for the surrounding community; Explore how a rural critical access hospital met testing demands to prepare for expected COVID-19 surge; Hear how the laboratory met unexpected challenges and was successful in mitigating issues in growing their COVID-19 testing program to meet patient demand. Stream On Demand

Call 13 from 7/7/20: Direct to Consumer Drive Through Testing for Molecular and Antibody Testing

Featured Speakers: Reeti Khare, PhD, Director, Infectious Disease Laboratory, Director of Infectious Disease Diagnostics at National Jewish Health Advanced Diagnostic Laboratories; and Ronald J. Harbeck, PhD, Immunology Laboratory Director at National Jewish Health Advanced Diagnostic Laboratories.

Key Learnings: Learn how to design and set up drive up a direct to consumer collection station for COVID-19 molecular (swab) and antibody testing (blood draw) testing; Explore the best practices and challenges in collecting and transporting patient samples for COVID-19 testing from the drive up collection sites to the lab; Understand the timeline and milestones for development of a COVID-19 antibody testing program using ELISA methods; Gain insights on how to implement a rapid molecular COVID-19 testing program direct to consumers. Stream On Demand

Call 12 from 7/2/20: COVID-19’s Impact on the Financial Stability of Clinical Laboratories: What’s Happened to Labs’ Specimen Volumes and Cash Flow Since Early March

Featured Speaker: Robert L. Michel, Editor The Dark Report, Founder and principal of  The Dark Intelligence Group. bio

Key Learnings: Compare the decline in routine daily specimen volumes in the outreach/outpatient sectors with the decline in daily hospital lab test volumes; Understand how the commercial lab/outreach market for lab testing is recovering; See the positive impact that COVID-19 lab test volumes have for labs able to perform those tests; Predict how the COVID-19 pandemic may significantly constrain the inflow of routine lab test specimens in coming months. Stream On Demand

Call 11 from 6/30/20: Getting Paid for COVID-19 Lab Test Claims: Essential Steps Every Clinical Lab Can Take to Speed Full Payment as Federal and State Requirements Change and Evolve

Featured Speaker: Danielle M. Sloane, Bass, Berry & Sims PLC (bio)

Key Learnings: Understand what federal law requires, as defined in the two COVID-19 bills; Learn about the issues for pre-surgical testing of COVID-19 and the requirements of different states for submitting claims; Explore key developments in testing staff and residents at nursing homes and long-term care facilities; Gain insights into COVID-19 employer testing programs, including programs for testing staff and providers at hospital and health systems. Stream On Demand

Call 10, from 6/25/20: COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma – Successful Hospital and Blood Supplier Partnership for Patient Treatment 

Featured Speaker: Randy German, Laboratory Administrative Director, Hoag Memorial Hospital, Newport Beach CA

Key Learnings: Review of SARS-CoV-2 Convalescent Plasma and the Mayo COVID-19 Expanded Access Protocol; Design and function of the hospital and blood center partnership; Lessons learned in donor recruitment and willingness of recovered patients to donate; Patient case studies involving use of convalescent plasma. Stream On Demand

 

Call No. 9 from 6/23/20: COVID-19 Testing for Nursing Homes, Health System Employees, and Employers: How Your Lab Can Tap this Financial Opportunity Using Analytics and New Digital Tools

Featured Speakers: Scott LaNeve, Senior VP High-Value Care, at hc1; Peter Plantes, MD, Executive Physician at hc1

Key Learnings: Perspective on how labs can help clients assess local risk for COVID-19 infection; Need for protocols management when testing residents, staff, and employees for COVID-19; Similarities and differences when labs provide COVID-19 testing programs at nursing homes, hospitals/health systems, employers, and others; Understanding the needs of employers, colleges, and universities as they organize COVID-19 testing to support return-to-work and return-to-school programs. Stream On Demand

Call No. 8 from 6/18/20: Lessons Learned in Standardizing and Harmonizing COVID-19 Testing Across all Laboratory Sites Within Dartmouth Hitchcock Health

Featured Speaker: Dorothy Martin, Regional Laboratory Manager at Dartmouth Hitchcock Health

Key Learnings: Review of COVID-19 sample risk and testing contingency planning in a multi-hospital health network environment; Establishment of standard validation protocols to account for various testing methodologies for COVID-19 across member hospitals; Creation of a ‘validation’ protocol and kit for enterprise hospitals to perform validation studies using same procedures; Lab Personnel, Supply and PPE mitigation planning for impact of COVID-19 testing. Stream On Demand

Call No. 7 from 6/16/20: When Your COVID-19 Patient is Positive, What Does Your Lab Do Next? Using Interleukin 6, Autoverification, and Automated Rule Sets to Triage Patients at Risk of a Cytokine Storm

Featured Speakers: Joshua Hayden, PhD,  Chief of Chemistry, Norton Healthcare; and Angela Martin, Manager, Laboratory Information System, Norton Healthcare

Key Learnings: While a great deal of focus has been placed on COVID-19 diagnostic testing, far less attention has been given to prognostic testing. This testing is especially important given that COVID-19 outcomes range from mild/asymptomatic to death. This call will discuss our health system’s experience with prognostic markers in COVID-19 patients. In particular, we will focus on the implementation and utility of interleukin-6 (IL6) in these patients. Stream On Demand.

Call No. 6 from 6/11/20: “Florida Turns to Northwest Pathology/Northwest Laboratory and the TestDirectly Direct-to-Consumer Web Portal for Statewide Testing of Long Term Care Residents and Staff for COVID-19″

Featured Speakers: Jennifer Bull,COO, Northwest Pathology and Northwest Laboratory;and Suren Avunjian,CEO,LigoLab Information System.

Key learnings: Hear how the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) has partnered with Northwest Pathology/Northwest Laboratory and the TestDirectly direct-to-consumer web portal to collect and test each of its 500,000 long term care (LTC) residents and staff for COVID-19. Major benefits: 10,000 samples are collected and processed daily with a processing time of 4-to-6 hours, and the results are electronically sent directly to the LTC employees, LTC facilities, and the state within 2-to-3 days of specimen collection. Stream On Demand

Featured Speaker: Robert L. Michel, Editor The Dark Report, Founder and principal of  The Dark Intelligence Group.

Call No. 1 from 5/26/20: “Legal Issues When Performing Employee COVID-19 Screening Testing for Employers.”

Featured Speaker: Rick Cooper of McDonald Hopkins.

Key Learnings: Identifying and quantifying financial distress risk; Effective negotiation of lease, vendor and debt forbearance agreements; Out of court restructurings – debt refinancing and debt for equity transactions; Formal restructuring through Chapter 11. Stream On Demand