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State and local public health laboratories across the United States were overwhelmed by testing demands related to the H1N1 influenza A outbreak—also called swine flu—in late April and early May. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would not send the nation’s second largest diagnostic testing provider the “official” test kits the agency was using for sample submission due to intellectual property (IP) concerns, LabCorp’s recently named chief medical officer, Mark Brecher, M.D., explained at a panel discussion during the American Clinical Laboratory Association’s (ACLA) annual meeting, held May 6 and 7 in Washington, D.C.

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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