The Dark Intelligence Group

HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU ATTENDED EXECUTIVE WAR COLLEGE?? WILL THIS BE YOUR FIRST YEAR? Many of our attendees have returned to Executive War College year after year, to learn, connect, and collaborate. It’s you, our EWC community, that make this event so special, and we are grateful for the insight and energy you bring to it every year! We love to recognize those who are returning and those who are attending for the first time! This year will be EWC's 30th year! Please share below how many years you have attended Executive War College or if you are planning to attend for the first time!! To register for EWC2025 and take advantage of our early bird pricing visit executivewarcollege.com!!

KFF Reports a 7% Rise in Annual Family Cost for Employer Health Insurance Plans Though the cost of clinical laboratory testing is not highlighted in KFF’s annual survey, it is a component in how much employers pay for healthcare plans for their employees Employers now pay higher health insurance premiums than ever for family coverage. However, because of the current tight labor market, they are generally absorbing much of that increase rather than passing the higher costs on to their workers. That’s one key takeaway from KFF’s 26th annual Employer Health Benefits Survey, which the non-profit published on Oct. 9, 2024. While the report does not comment specifically about the cost of clinical laboratory testing or genetic testing and how they may contribute to rising insurance costs, it stands to reason they are part of growing healthcare costs for corporate health benefits. The KFF survey found that premiums for family coverage increased 7% in 2024, reaching an average of $25,572. That follows a 7% increase in 2023. “Over the past five years—a period of high inflation (23%) and wage growth (28%)—the cumulative increase in premiums has been similar (24%),” KFF stated in a press release. However, the amount paid by workers has gone up by less than $300 since 2019. It now stands at an average of $6,296, a total increase of 5% over five years. On average, workers covered 25% of family premium costs in 2024, down from... Read the Dark Daily article now! https://hubs.ly/Q02X8hD10

Don’t miss your chance to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving field of fungal and mold identification technologies. Join us on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern for the webinar, "Enhancing Antifungal Therapy: A Two-Step Rapid Diagnostic Using PCR/NGS,” sponsored by MicroGenDX and hosted by Dark Daily. What The Experts Will Cover: -How advanced PCR/NGS technologies are setting a new gold standard for rapid identification. -The accuracy of the 2-step PCR/NGS process—achieving 99% accuracy in just 24-48 hours. -The benefits of rapid diagnosis in streamlining the identification of complex infections, ensuring targeted treatment from the start. To learn more about this webinar and to register visit Dark Daily Webinars! https://hubs.ly/Q02X0Nlg0

Epic Sued for Antitrust Violations by Small, Start-up Company Data platform Particle Health filed antitrust lawsuit against Epic after months of disagreements IT’S BEING CALLED A “DAVID VERSUS GOLIATH” SPAT. Last month, Particle Health of New York City filed an antitrust lawsuit against Epic Systems Corporation of Verona, Wisc. Particle’s lawsuit claims Epic is violating the Sherman Act—a law that defines unfair competition. Becker’s Health IT reported that “Particle alleges that Epic has limited its access to patient records within the Carequality network over the past six months to block the company’s entry into the payer platform market.” The dispute centers around services in a new sector of healthcare, the payer platform space. MedCity News wrote, “The payer platform space refers to the emerging market for digital platforms that allow payers to access and analyze patient data at scale for a variety of purposes, including improving care coordination, designing population health programs or streamlining claims processing. Particle’s complaint alleges that Epic is preventing the startup from competing in this space by cutting off Particle customers from... Read The Dark Report article now! https://hubs.ly/Q02X1R7b0 Need a group membership? Discounts are available. For more information visit https://hubs.ly/Q02X1S4Z0 or send us a message on LinkedIn!

Allina Doctors Express Concerns after Quest Acquires Lab Outreach Unusual for physicians to contact the media to discuss problems in lab outreach turnaround times. IN RECENT YEARS, QUEST DIAGNOSTICS AND LABCORP, the two behemoths of the U.S. clinical laboratory market, have been aggressively acquiring lab businesses from health systems across the country. They say that patients and providers will benefit from lower costs and better access to testing services. But clinicians at one major health system in the Midwest publicly called foul after Quest completed such a deal, describing it as a “disastrous, chaotic mess.” Unexpected Problems In June, Quest announced that it had agreed to acquire the lab outreach business of Allina Health, a nonprofit health system with 1,864 beds operating out of 12 hospitals and more than 90 clinics in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. In the press release Quest issued, it said the goal of the deal was “to improve access to, and the affordability of, innovative laboratory services” in the region. The two parties announced in mid-September that they had closed the deal. However, soon after clinicians at Allina Health facilities spoke out with a litany of complaints about... Read The Dark Report now! https://hubs.ly/Q02WGsLv0 Need a group membership? Discounts are available! For more information visit https://hubs.ly/Q02WGsbR0

Every clinical lab organization should have their managers and best strategic thinkers attend the Executive War College. This is the time and place for them to learn from the diagnostic profession’s best innovators and gain insights they’ll need to keep their laboratories at the cutting edge of clinical excellence in a financially sustainable manner. Almost 100 sessions will cover the full range of important new developments in lab management, and Michel is at the early stages of creating what he expects will be yet another comprehensive learning experience for clinical lab and pathology leaders. As has been the case over the 29 previous Executive War Colleges, this is also THE place to do business for those companies that serve the industry with their assays, leading edge equipment and other technologies. Register now for Executive War College 2025 and take advantage of our Super Early Bird Pricing at https://hubs.ly/Q02VV6Sy0

PREMIUM Webinar "FDA’s LDT RULE: Steps to Prepare for Your FDA First Milestone Submission," on Thursday, November 7, 2024. With the compliance clock ticking and the first regulatory milestone arriving in May 2025—just seven months from now—you now have the opportunity to learn the most productive steps necessary to protect the LDTs essential to patient care and your lab’s finances! To learn more about this webinar and to register now visit Dark Daily Webinars now! DarkDaily.com MOMENTUM Consulting Valerie Palmieri Marilyn Owens Kim Dickinson, MD, MBA, MPH Anne Tate, MLS (ASCP) SC, MBA, MHI

100-Biomarker Lab Test for Alzheimer’s Disease Developed by Team at University of Pittsburgh New clinical laboratory test could replace conventional spinal tap for diagnosing neurodegenerative disease In a proof-of-concept study, University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) scientists validated a clinical laboratory test that measures more than 100 different genetic sequences associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The Pitt researchers believe the new diagnostic platform could help clinicians “capture the multifaceted nature of Alzheimer’s pathology and streamline early disease diagnostics,” according to a news release. Clinical laboratory blood tests that detect biomarkers such as phosphorylated tau protein (pTau) have emerged in studies as diagnostic possibilities for Alzheimer’s disease, which is traditionally diagnosed using a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) procedure. The Pitt scientists published the findings of their study titled, “Multi-Analyte Proteomic Analysis Identifies Blood-based Neuroinflammation, Cerebrovascular, and Synaptic Biomarkers in Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease,” in the journal Molecular Neurodegeneration. In their paper, neuroscientist Thomas Karikari, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at University of Pittsburgh, lead author of the study, and his research team acknowledged that progress has been made in detecting Alzheimer’s disease with blood-based biomarkers. However, they note that “two key obstacles remain: the lack of... Read the Dark Daily article now! https://hubs.ly/Q02WPPf40

FREE WEBINAR!! Now on Demand! "Enhancing Laboratory Efficiency & Reducing Turnaround Time," hosted by Dark Daily and sponsored by bioMérieux. This webinar will explore how continuous process improvement (CPI) and time-based microbiology can streamline your workflows, reduce wait times, and improve overall laboratory efficiency. During this webinar, you will: -Learn how outdated lab practices can lead to inefficient workflows and delays. -Discover the structured approach of CPI in optimizing lab processes. -Explore how this innovative method can enable uninterrupted workflow and faster results. -See how organizations have successfully implemented these strategies to improve turnaround times and patient care. To learn more about this webinar and watch now visit Dark Daily webinars or click the link below! https://hubs.ly/Q02WGlhJ0

University of Colorado Boulder Scientists Demonstrate Acoustic-based Diagnostic System Small handheld device uses sound waves to detect certain clinical laboratory biomarkers in blood samples University of Colorado Boulder researchers have developed a novel technology that uses sound waves to test for biomarkers in blood samples. In addition to being very easy to use, the handheld device is portable, highly sensitive, and delivers results in minutes. Though not ready for clinical use, this is yet another example of how researchers are developing faster diagnostic tests that can be performed in near-patient settings, and which do not have to be done in core laboratories, shortening time to answer. The small instrument—referred to as an “acoustic pipette”—delivers sound waves to tiny particles within the device called “functional negative acoustic contrast particles” (fNACPs). These particles are cell-sized balls that can be... Read the Dark Daily article now! https://hubs.ly/Q02WCGkc0