Volume XVI
July 2020 - Top Stories:

1. Big News: Lighthouse finalizes merger to create ‘largest’ laboratory consulting firm in US.
Lighthouse Lab Services and Elite Diagnostics have completed a merger of their business operations. This merger created an industry-leading Laboratory Consulting and Recruiting firm in the US! Read article HERE.

2. Pooled Testing's Promise for the Rapid Expansion of COVID-19 Testing.
This month, we hosted the nation's Pooled Testing Experts as they share a case study on how Sample Pooling helped one COVID-19 testing lab significantly reduce cost and increase throughput.
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
Labs across the nation are beginning to see TAT (Turn Around Time) on COVID-19 tests slip. We polled 117 labs about their average TAT and the results are below:
WHAT'S TRENDING?
1. Increasing testing capacity for SARS-CoV-2 by pooling specimens.

When disease prevalence in a population is small (less than 15%), group testing results in a significant reduction in the number of tests performed. Group testing is used in a vast number of applications, including  blood donation screening for infectious diseases , sexually transmitted disease detection, 2  bacteria in food detection, 3  and chemical compound discovery for use in new pharmaceuticals. 4  Group testing was even investigated for the influenza pandemic (H1N1) of 2009. 5

There are two important considerations for applying group testing. First, pooling specimens leads to each individual specimen being a smaller portion of the whole. This dilution could make it more difficult to detect the pathogen; thus, potentially producing false negatives. Second, a group size needs to be selected. Too large of a group size results in too many groups testing positive, leading to an exorbitant number of separate tests. Too small of a group size results in many more group tests than needed. To prevent this from occurring, the expected number of tests is used to determine the most efficient group size. In other words, we want the group size that gives the smallest average number of tests if group testing was applied to a continuous stream of specimens coming into a laboratory. Our  sidebar  presents the technical details for selecting this group size.

Read the full article HERE.
2. Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 Testing

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, we received multiple inquiries per day from individuals contemplating starting a COVID-19 testing lab or considering adding this line of testing to their existing lab. Outlined below are the mostly frequently asked questions:
What is the reimbursement for COVID-19 testing?

What is the cost to run a COVID-19 test?

What equipment do we need to perform the testing and what does it cost?

What is the cost to validate a COVID-19 Molecular PCR LDT in our lab?

We answered all of these and more! Read it HERE
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?

How exactly does a part-time lab director shrink a lab’s overhead cost?
A full-time lab director commands a salary of around $150,000+ annually, while a part-time lab director generally makes between $12,000-$24,000 annually. By employing a part-time lab director rather than a full-time lab director, a lab can save well over $100,000 per year!

You might have other questions, like: When is it acceptable to hire a part-time lab director instead of a full-time lab director? If a director only works part-time, how can he/she complete all of the lab director duties? Why would a lab director choose to only work part-time for less pay? Read  our full article  to find answers to those questions.

We supply Medical Lab Directors to over 160 High-Complexity CLIA labs nationwide. We are able to save most labs a significant amount of money with our program. Let us give you a quote today and if we can't save you money we will give you a free gift for your time.

Contact our Lab Director Program Manager  to learn more and/or receive a quote for  Lab Director Services specific to your facility  so that your lab is always inspection-ready and compliant.
We know, COVID-19 testing remains a top priority for many of you as we enter August.

We wanted to let you know that Lighthouse has a number of great candidates who are ready and willing to help in the fight against coronavirus.

The surge in new lab testing related to coronavirus has created a big staffing shortage. We can assist your laboratory with recruiting staff or by adding a temp until things return to normal: Schedule a Call.
The Lab Insighter is a quarterly publication for Lab Owners and Decision Makers.
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start@lighthouselabservices.com