The recession is at least partly to blame for slowing testing growth in the first quarter of 2009, with the average volume growth clocking in at only 0.7 percent due to economic conditions, according to results from more than 100 laboratories in the recent Washington G-2 Reports’ March Survey on Lab Trends: The Effects of the Recession on Test Volume. For full year 2009, respondents reported an overall average expected volume growth of 1.4 percent—well below the industry’s long-term annual volume growth trend of 2 percent to 3 percent.

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June 2009 - Table of Contents

LIR June 2009 (full PDF issue)

G-2 Reports March Survey Finds Test Volume Growth Slows to Less Than 1% During First Quarter; Lab Directors Expect 1.4% Growth for 2009

H1N1 Pandemic Threat, Health Care Overhaul Underscore Key National Priorities for Labs

CAP, ASCP Join ACLU Suit Over Breast Cancer Gene Patents

CMS Denies Reimbursement for Gene-Based Warfarin Testing; Proposes Clinical Trial Coverage

Medicare Part B Lab Spending Up 3.3% to $7.3 Billion in 2008

Inside the Lab Industry: CDC Limits Lab Industry’s Role in H1N1 Flu Diagnosis Due to IP, Reagent Supply Concerns

PLUS Diagnostics Opens West Coast Lab; Plans to Launch Hematology/Oncology Testing Services This Year

Rosetta Genomics Sells Parkway Clinical Labs for $2.5 Million in Management Buy-Out

Lab Stocks Continue to Gather Strength; Up 3% Over Five Weeks, 10% for 2009

Industry Buzz: OIG Finds Improper Medicaid Spending on Lab Services