Join Dr. Brian Jackson, adjunct professor of pathology at the University of Utah and a medical director at ARUP Laboratories, as he interviews some of the top minds in diagnostic laboratory medicine. Listeners are privy to personal anecdotes and creative insights into important challenges facing laboratories and clinicians.
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Creating a More Just, Effective, and Affordable Healthcare System
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Fixing American healthcare will require more than mere tweaks around the edges. Dr. Vikas Saini, president of the Boston-based Lown Institute, believes that it will require a return to medicine’s humanist roots. In this interview he describes some of the ways in which many healthcare organizations prioritize revenue and profit over patients and com…
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What ASCP's Youngest MLS Can Teach Us About Recruiting the Next Generation of Laboratory Scientists
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Clinical laboratories offer great careers, but lack of awareness and other barriers can prevent excellent candidates from pursuing laboratory science professions. In this interview, Isak Schmidley, MLS(ASCP), explains how he first stumbled across medical laboratory science while attending community college in his early teens and then persevered pas…
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Preventing Hereditary Cancer Through Genealogy
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Most hereditary cancers, including those associated with BRCA1 mutations and Lynch syndrome, can be prevented through a combination of genetic testing, surveillance, and surgery. Yet only a small minority of eligible individuals currently receive this lifesaving intervention. In this interview, Dr. Brian Shirts, director of the Institute for Public…
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Bringing Pharmacogenomics Into Mainstream Clinical Practice
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Due to genetic variation, patients metabolize and respond to medications in vastly different ways, so why do most drug therapy regimens continue to be one-size-fits-all? In this interview, Dr. Yuan Ji, ARUP’s section chief of Molecular Genetics and Genomics, discusses how currently available genetic tests can be used to improve both the safety and …
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Building a Professional Community for Laboratory Stewardship
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Since its founding in 2013 at Seattle Children’s Hospital, PLUGS (Patient-Centered Laboratory Utilization Guidance Services) has brought together laboratory professionals, genetic counselors, clinicians, patients, and insurance companies across the country to improve the application of laboratory tests in clinical practice. In this interview, PLUGS…
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What It Means for a Laboratory to Be Part of the Patient Care Team
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Dr. Eddie Stenehjem, Vice Chair of Medicine at the University of Colorado, knows a lot about clinical laboratories. As an infectious disease physician and former cochair of Intermountain Healthcare’s laboratory stewardship committee, he has deep respect for the knowledge and dedication that laboratory professionals bring to patient care. In this in…
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How Will Automation Change Clinical Laboratories?
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There’s plenty of excitement around laboratory automation. But which tasks are good candidates for automation, and which are poor candidates? What risks need to be managed? And what are the implications of automation for lab professionals? In this interview, Dr. Joseph Rudolf, medical director of ARUP’s Automated Core Laboratory, shares his insight…
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Solving Coagulation Mysteries One Patient at a Time
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Diagnosis involves much more than a number on a lab report. This is particularly true when the patient has disordered bleeding or clotting. In this interview, Dr. Karen Moser from the University of Utah Department of Pathology describes some of the ways she works with her laboratory and clinician colleagues to ensure that patients get the answers a…
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What does it mean to have a quality culture? Technical competence and strict adherence to protocols are certainly part of the story. But so are factors such as workforce engagement and customer service. In this interview, Nancy Ross, assistant director of clinical pathology and quality at Montefiore Medical System and the founder of Improov, a labo…
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Why Quality Management Is Critical to the Long-Term Success of Healthcare AI
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A public debate is raging around the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI). One side argues that AI is potentially dangerous and needs to be carefully controlled, whereas the other side argues that any regulation would slow innovation. In this interview, Dr. Ryan Metcalf, section chief of Transfusion Medicine and medical director of Transfusio…
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How FDA Restrictions on Laboratory-Developed Tests Will Harm Patients and Increase Costs
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The FDA recently announced a plan to regulate laboratory-developed tests (LDTs) as medical devices. In this interview, Dr. Meghan Delaney from Children’s National Hospital and Dr. Eric Konnick from the University of Washington explain why many tests that are critical to patient care, particularly in the areas of pediatrics, transplantation, and rar…
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What the TRUU-Lab Initiative Has Taught Us About Laboratory Test Names
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Dr. Ila Singh, chief of laboratory medicine at Texas Children’s Hospital, founded the Test Renaming for Understanding and Utilization in the Laboratory (TRUU-Lab) initiative several years ago to tackle challenges related to the nonstandardized and uninformative naming of laboratory tests. In this interview, Dr. Singh describes the surveys her CDC-f…
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Blunt Advice for Navigating a Career in Academic Medicine
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Individuals pursue careers in academic medicine for many reasons. A love of organizational politics is rarely one of them, but faculty need to understand potential landmines if they are to avoid them. In this interview, Dr. Michael Cohen, a professor emeritus of pathology at Wake Forest University, draws on his experiences serving on faculty and in…
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Sustainability in Healthcare Organizations
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Sustainability is a hot topic for American corporations, and health systems are no exception. In this interview, Glen Garrick, system sustainability director for Intermountain Healthcare, explains how his and other healthcare organizations are addressing their environmental, social, and governance responsibilities. He also describes how clinical la…
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Keys to Laboratory Success in the Next Pandemic
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Three and a half years after the emergence of COVID-19 is a good time to reflect on the capabilities of U.S. laboratories to respond to future pandemics. In this interview, Dr. Marc Couturier, medical director of Emerging Public Health Crises at ARUP Laboratories, explains how the U.S. laboratory sector has improved in its ability to respond quickl…
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Optimizing Laboratory Testing for Autoimmune Neurologic Disease
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Laboratory testing can either lead to the correct diagnosis or take a clinician down a blind alley, depending on how carefully the tests are selected and performed. In this interview, a practicing neurologist (Dr. Tammy Smith) and a clinical laboratory immunologist (Dr. Lisa Peterson) explain some of the complexities of laboratory diagnosis of auto…
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Bridging the Cultural Divide Between Nursing and Laboratory Medicine
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Nurses and laboratory professionals rely on each other to ensure accurate test results, but their relationships are sometimes challenging. As president of St. Alphonsus Medical Center in Nampa, Idaho, as well as a registered nurse with a doctorate degree in nursing practice, Clint Child often mediates when these two professional cultures collide. I…
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Why Different Platforms Can Give Different Results for the Same Test, and What Can Be Done About It
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Physicians and patients expect laboratory tests to produce the same results, regardless of where they are performed. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case, even for FDA-approved assays. As the current chair of the College of American Pathologists committee for accuracy-based proficiency testing, Dr. Andy Hoofnagle is an authority on this indust…
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Lessons Learned From Automating a Hospital Laboratory
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The key to successful clinical lab automation doesn’t lie in the instruments or the conveyor belt. It lies in clarifying what the organization most needs to improve (labor efficiency? turnaround time? reliability?) followed by optimizing those factors through modeling and planning. In this interview, Dr. Lauren Pearson, ARUP’s chief medical officer…
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What Laboratory Leaders Aren’t Discussing With Hospital Administrators, But Should Be
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For her doctoral dissertation, Dr. Susan Edralin dove into the issue of communicating the value contribution of pathology and laboratory medicine to healthcare administrators. What she found in her conversations surprised her. In this interview, she lists some of the misunderstandings regarding laboratory value and describes how lab directors can r…
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You know what a patent is, but do you know what’s patentable in the field of laboratory diagnostics? Or how patent law has changed over the years? In this interview, Dr. Bert Ley, a registered patent agent with decades of experience in the clinical laboratory industry, unpacks some of the mysteries of the U.S. patent system and how it ultimately be…
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Within our current healthcare institutions, patients’ voices are often drowned out by the voices of providers, scientists, and industry. Andrea Downing’s life work is to fix this. As a BRCA1 cancer previvor and a patients’ rights activist, she was a spokesperson for one of the plaintiffs in the U.S. Supreme Court case that ultimately overturned gen…
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To most laboratorians, quality control is all about rules, metrics, and thresholds. To Dr. Fred Strathmann, on the other hand, it’s about gaining understanding of the underlying processes. In this interview, he shares examples of ways to think more deeply about measurements in order to drive organizational improvement.…
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How to Create a More Welcoming Workplace for Women
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ARUP Laboratories was recently recognized by Forbes Magazine as being among the country’s best workplaces for women. In this interview, ARUP’s president, Dr. Tracy George, explains how companies can create healthier models of work-life balance that support women (and men) in their personal and professional roles.…
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A Legacy of Leadership in Clinical Pathology
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The curricula of pathology and laboratory medicine training programs are heavily weighted toward technical and medical knowledge. In this interview, Dr. Wayne Chandler makes the case for more emphasis on leadership training, and he shares experiences from his 40-year clinical pathology career that illustrate the impact of people skills.…
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The VALID Act currently being debated in Congress would increase the regulatory burden on clinical laboratories. In this interview, Dr. David Grenache from TriCore Laboratories and the University of New Mexico, together with Dr. Vince Stine from the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, explain why VALID would slow down innovation while it r…
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Keys to Recruiting and Retention in a Tough Labor Market
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In 2022, laboratory professionals have more choices about whom to work for and whether to even continue working in laboratory medicine. In this discussion, Stephanie Whitehead, MBA, MPH, MLS(ASCP), executive director of pathology and laboratory services at University Health, San Antonio, describes what managers should be doing to recruit and retain…
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An Organizational Strategy for Workplace Mental Health
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Despite their explicit healthcare mission, clinical laboratories often fall short when it comes to employee mental health. Laboratory managers know how to troubleshoot an assay or write a procedure, but how many know how to support an employee with crippling anxiety or de-escalate an emotional crisis? In this discussion, Brysen Bocchino, CMHC, NCC,…
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How will lab testing be different a decade from now? Many answers are likely to be found in the numerous projects championed by the roughly 200 medical directors and scientists of the ARUP Institute for Clinical and Experimental Pathology. In this discussion, Dr. Adam Barker, chief scientific officer for ARUP Laboratories, explains how and why thes…
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Nudging Physicians Toward Better Use of Diagnostic Tests
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Improving physicians’ use of laboratory tests is not usually a problem of motivation. They’re already motivated to deliver high-quality care to their patients. More often, it’s about choice architecture, i.e., making sure that correct choices are easier to make than incorrect ones. In this discussion, Dr. Valerie Vaughn explains the science behind …
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How Transgender Medicine Is Changing Laboratory Practices for the Better
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The needs of transgender and nonbinary patients are compelling laboratories to reexamine historic practices in areas such as patient demographics, reference intervals, and terminology. In this discussion, Drs. Joely Straseski and Jenna Rychert express confidence in the laboratory community's ability to meet the needs of both patients and clinicians…
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Many hospitals test newborn babies for exposure to drugs of abuse. Although this sounds fairly straightforward, in practice it has been difficult to standardize testing protocols, let alone keep up with substance use trends. Compared with other areas of laboratory medicine, drug testing is also associated with unique social and legal ramifications,…
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Vision for Responsive Certification in Pathology
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Many physicians see board certification as a one-time hurdle along their career pathway. Dr. Gary Procop, incoming CEO of the American Board of Pathology, sees it instead as a longitudinal partnership “to help make great pathologists, and make great pathologists greater.” In this discussion he explains how ABPath and other specialty boards are usin…
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Using Genetics to Solve Medical Cold Cases of Hemolytic Anemia
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It’s surprisingly common for individuals to harbor undiagnosed genetic conditions. For example, newborns with abnormally high bilirubin levels often reach adulthood without any discovery of the biologic cause. In this discussion, Dr. Archana Agarwal delves into the value of using focused genetic panels to end the diagnostic odysseys for about half …
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Stories of Ingenuity, Creativity, and Grit (Part II)
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When most people think of laboratorians, they picture introverts following rigid processes to perform technical tasks. These stereotypes sell laboratory professionals short. True, laboratory testing does involve technical chemistry and biology tasks, and some scientists might be introverts, but our field is far broader than this picture suggests. I…
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Stories of Ingenuity, Creativity, and Grit (Part I)
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When most people think of laboratorians, they picture introverts following rigid processes to perform technical tasks. These stereotypes sell laboratory professionals short. True, laboratory testing does involve technical chemistry and biology tasks, and some scientists might be introverts, but our field is far broader than this picture suggests. I…
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Dennis Strenk, PA(ASCP)CM, has interviewed more than 70 people in pathology and laboratory medicine for his podcast, “People of Pathology.” We discuss the remarkable range of backgrounds, professional interests, and career paths he’s encountered, and why it’s never too late to pursue a laboratory career.…
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Person-Centric Innovation to Improve Diagnostic Testing in Global Health
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Global health is ultimately achieved by meeting the health needs of people in diverse real-world settings. Creative innovations developed to meet the needs of lower-resourced countries can often benefit wealthy countries as well. In this discussion, Dr. Karen Heichman, director of diagnostics for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, explains the …
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How Do You Continue Building a Great Company?
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Andy Theurer recently became the seventh CEO in ARUP’s almost 40-year history. In this interview, he reflects on lessons learned from all six of his predecessors, shares why he’s been skipping to work almost every day for the more than 30 years he’s been with ARUP, and talks about how he hopes to guide the future of ARUP.…
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Dr. Sherrie Perkins never planned, nor aspired, to become CEO of a large clinical laboratory business. But after a long and successful career as an academic hematopathologist, she was tapped as the sixth chief executive in ARUP Laboratories’ nearly 40-year history. In this interview, she describes her journey from art student to pathologist, how ev…
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Few guests on LabMind have been as attuned to broad technologic trends in pathology as Dr. Joseph Anderson. He has worked in multiple settings, including private practice, academia, and industry, and is currently engaged in with several early-stage pathology companies. Anderson also hosts a podcast in which he interviews leaders in the domain of di…
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A Patient Perspective on Diagnostic Testing
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Patients’ needs and preferences don’t always match the preconceived notions of laboratory and medical professionals. In this interview, Heidi Wallis, president of the Association for Creatine Deficiencies, shares her family’s diagnostic odyssey. She also provides insights about how the biomedical establishment could better serve families like hers.…
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Transfusion medicine has arguably led other pathology subspecialties in improving patient safety through industrial quality management and standardization methods. However, standardization practices, such as the use of transfusion triggers, are in some respects a one-size-fits-all approach. And as we undoubtedly know, real patients aren't standardi…
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Paul Epner’s more than four-decade career started at Abbott Diagnostics and has involved collaboration with the CDC and a tenure as president of the Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA). He now serves as CEO of the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM). Throughout his career, Epner has been a powerful advocate for the role of…
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A Distinctive Diagnostic Partnership in Pediatrics
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When Dr. Nicola Longo, professor of Pediatrics at the University of Utah, encounters a child with an undiagnosed syndrome, he has a unique resource: Dr. Marzia Pasquali, professor of pathology and section chief of Biochemical Genetics at ARUP Laboratories. Their connection extends back to high school in Parma, Italy, and grew through years of medic…
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As an infectious disease physician and medical microbiologist, Dr. Kim Hanson has had a busy year. In this interview, she reflects on some of the successes during the COVID-19 era, such as the collaboration among rival regional health systems to provide testing for our communities. She discusses how COVID-19 testing needs are evolving, pointing to …
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Why Every Health System Needs Doctors of Clinical Laboratory Science (DCLSs)
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Nadine Fydryszewski is program director for the world’s first Doctor of Clinical Laboratory Science (DCLS) program at Rutgers University. Modeled after other health professional degree programs, including those for pharmacy and physical therapy, this doctorate-level role for clinical laboratorians was developed to complement interdisciplinary patie…
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Bringing Phlebotomy Services to the Home and Workplace with LabFly
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A restaurant delivery or car ride can be ordered easily from your smartphone. Why not phlebotomy services when you need your blood drawn? This is the question Mike Eller asked a colleague back in 2018. Then, with some tech and marketing collaboration, they made it happen. In this discussion, Jim Crawford, Eller, and Chris Zavala explain the origin …
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How Laboratories Can Reduce the Total Cost of Care
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Health systems wishing to reduce overall healthcare costs would do well to focus less on direct laboratory costs and more on the meaningful ways laboratories can impact clinical efficiency. In this interview, Rick Panning, who served as Senior Administrative Director for Laboratory Services at HealthPartners in Minnesota, describes his work to redu…
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Finding Meaning Through a Career in Clinical Laboratory Science
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Clinical laboratory science might just be the most invisible of all the healthcare professions. Maddie Josephs, president of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science, is trying to change that. In this interview she explains why many Millennials and Gen Z individuals feel drawn to this field, and describes some of the barriers to expandi…
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