A major shift in laboratories was announced at the AACC, if you read between the lines
August 06, 2017
By Dennis Matricardi, MS, SM(ASCP)DLM
Clinical Analyst, MD Buyline
Scientists, professors, laboratory professionals, and vendors from a wide array of diagnostic specialties are gathering at the 69th American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC) Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo in San Diego this week.
They’ll be presenting topics relating to ways of tackling current issues and showcasing innovations in laboratory automation, data analytics, and diagnostics. Diana Trinh and Dennis Matricardi, clinical analysts from MD Buyline, will be filing reports exclusive to HealthCare Business News from the meetings and expo.
POC (Point-of-Care) testing has been cannibalizing laboratory testing for about twenty years now, but the sharply renewed interest of laboratory vendors in POC signals a cataclysmic change in the laboratory space. For many years it seemed like the mega vendors of Abbott, Beckman Coulter, Roche, and Siemens had entered the niche of POC because they had to. It was almost like, “Oh, yes, we have POC.”
However, Abbott seemed to pick up on or define the future when they acquired I-STAT in 2003. I-STAT is a hand-held analyzer that can perform a multitude of laboratory tests. I-STATs have been flying off the shelves at Abbott in the last decade. I would venture to say that the i-STAT is the most well-known laboratory instrument in the world. Fast forward to today, and it is clear that the rest of the mega vendor crowd appears to be convinced that Abbott had foresight that the rest of the market was lacking in 2003 – lab consolidation will accelerate with the use of POC testing, and moderate-sized laboratories may cease to exist.
It is Siemens Healthineers that has signaled the shift with the agreement to acquire Epocal from Alere, literally, during the AACC convention. There is a long history between the I-STAT and Epocal’s EPOC blood analysis product line. The same inventor sold the I-STAT and invented the EPOC. But the EPOC never caught fire. I believe it is now poised to explode and create a real sense of worry for Abbott. This deal happened so fast that the EPOC was being displayed at the Alere booth, even though it clearly does not have a future with Alere. Another sign that something new is going on: Werfen/Instrumentation Laboratory is poised to acquire Accriva Diagnostics - Hemochron. The gobbling up of POC products and companies is likely to dominate the laboratory space for months to come. The mega vendors are now becoming fully engaged with POC.
Couple this POC change with the continued consolidation of laboratories to offsite locations (offsite from the main hospital), and it is clear the laboratory is moving to two very different entities at opposite ends of the laboratory spectrum. Labs will be either very large or POC. Most hospital laboratories in the country will migrate to both ends, and what is now in the middle will be almost totally non-existent. These obvious, but subtle, changes in the treatment of POC by laboratory companies are a clear signal that major change is coming.
About the author: Dennis Matricardi joined MD Buyline in 2000 with over 30 years of hospital-based laboratory experience. He has a strong specialization in infectious disease and experience running both microbiology and infection control programs in a hospital setting. He has previously worked as a laboratory surveyor for the College of American Pathologists (CAP) and has experience with laboratory inspections by the Joint Commission and CAP. He has had oversight for anatomical pathology, cytology, microbiology, immunology, laboratory information systems and laboratory compliance and finance.
Matricardi has worked in various small and large hospital laboratories in Ohio, Florida, and Texas, and has been a microbiology technologist, microbiology supervisor, laboratory technical consultant, and laboratory manager. He has written for ASCP ONELab on topics related to laboratory purchasing and management. He has been published in the ASCP magazine LabMedicine and Critical Values and presented topics at national laboratory conventions.
Matricardi received his Bachelor of Science in microbiology from Ohio State University and Master of Science in management/health systems administration from the University of Akron. He is registered by the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP) as Specialist in Microbiology SM(ASCP) and Diplomat in Laboratory Management DLM(ASCP). He has also held Certification in Infection Control by the Certification Board of Infection Control.
Clinical Analyst, MD Buyline
Scientists, professors, laboratory professionals, and vendors from a wide array of diagnostic specialties are gathering at the 69th American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC) Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo in San Diego this week.
They’ll be presenting topics relating to ways of tackling current issues and showcasing innovations in laboratory automation, data analytics, and diagnostics. Diana Trinh and Dennis Matricardi, clinical analysts from MD Buyline, will be filing reports exclusive to HealthCare Business News from the meetings and expo.
POC (Point-of-Care) testing has been cannibalizing laboratory testing for about twenty years now, but the sharply renewed interest of laboratory vendors in POC signals a cataclysmic change in the laboratory space. For many years it seemed like the mega vendors of Abbott, Beckman Coulter, Roche, and Siemens had entered the niche of POC because they had to. It was almost like, “Oh, yes, we have POC.”
However, Abbott seemed to pick up on or define the future when they acquired I-STAT in 2003. I-STAT is a hand-held analyzer that can perform a multitude of laboratory tests. I-STATs have been flying off the shelves at Abbott in the last decade. I would venture to say that the i-STAT is the most well-known laboratory instrument in the world. Fast forward to today, and it is clear that the rest of the mega vendor crowd appears to be convinced that Abbott had foresight that the rest of the market was lacking in 2003 – lab consolidation will accelerate with the use of POC testing, and moderate-sized laboratories may cease to exist.
It is Siemens Healthineers that has signaled the shift with the agreement to acquire Epocal from Alere, literally, during the AACC convention. There is a long history between the I-STAT and Epocal’s EPOC blood analysis product line. The same inventor sold the I-STAT and invented the EPOC. But the EPOC never caught fire. I believe it is now poised to explode and create a real sense of worry for Abbott. This deal happened so fast that the EPOC was being displayed at the Alere booth, even though it clearly does not have a future with Alere. Another sign that something new is going on: Werfen/Instrumentation Laboratory is poised to acquire Accriva Diagnostics - Hemochron. The gobbling up of POC products and companies is likely to dominate the laboratory space for months to come. The mega vendors are now becoming fully engaged with POC.
Couple this POC change with the continued consolidation of laboratories to offsite locations (offsite from the main hospital), and it is clear the laboratory is moving to two very different entities at opposite ends of the laboratory spectrum. Labs will be either very large or POC. Most hospital laboratories in the country will migrate to both ends, and what is now in the middle will be almost totally non-existent. These obvious, but subtle, changes in the treatment of POC by laboratory companies are a clear signal that major change is coming.
Dennis Matricardi
Matricardi has worked in various small and large hospital laboratories in Ohio, Florida, and Texas, and has been a microbiology technologist, microbiology supervisor, laboratory technical consultant, and laboratory manager. He has written for ASCP ONELab on topics related to laboratory purchasing and management. He has been published in the ASCP magazine LabMedicine and Critical Values and presented topics at national laboratory conventions.
Matricardi received his Bachelor of Science in microbiology from Ohio State University and Master of Science in management/health systems administration from the University of Akron. He is registered by the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP) as Specialist in Microbiology SM(ASCP) and Diplomat in Laboratory Management DLM(ASCP). He has also held Certification in Infection Control by the Certification Board of Infection Control.