IVD Technology
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Originally Published IVD Technology July/August 2005
EDITOR'S PAGE
Finding common ground
At the end of July, IVD industry representatives and their counterparts from the clinical laboratory community will gather in Orlando, FL, for the annual meeting of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC; Washington, DC). The meeting provides an opportunity for IVD manufacturers to showcase their products, and for laboratorians to learn about the latest technologies that such companies have to offer.
Besides making deals and conducting business, the IVD industry and the laboratory community should take advantage of such gatherings to discuss and address critical public policy issues that affect them. In fact, more-regular contact between IVD manufacturers and laboratorians would enable the two sectors to explore issues of mutual concern, develop areas in which they have common ground, and work on strategies to resolve problems for the benefit of the industry at large.
One important area in which IVD manufacturers and laboratories have common ground is reimbursement. Both sectors are threatened annually by the prospect of cuts in reimbursement for lab tests, and it is an area that they need to monitor together closely.
IVD manufacturers recognize that while reductions in the rate of reimbursement paid for clinical testing initially affect the labs, the manufacturing community has a vested interest in minimizing such reductions. Such cost pressures from government and third-party payers have a trickle-down effect that ultimately harms both the laboratory community and the IVD industry.
Moreover, cuts in reimbursement for lab tests could have long-term effects on the healthcare system in general. With laboratories not receiving sufficient reimbursement for testing, they will be unable to purchase new sophisticated tests from IVD manufacturers. Consequently, manufacturers will be unable to fund their research and development to produce the next generation of diagnostic technologies. This situation could be especially dire for healthcare considering the ever-increasing number of older patients who will require greater volumes of testing.
Since reimbursement affects both sectors, the IVD industry and the laboratory community should find ways to coordinate their efforts to address reimbursement issues. One group that has come to the forefront in addressing reimbursement issues that affect the lab community is the Clinical Laboratory Coalition. Comprising such organizations as AACC and AdvaMed (Washington, DC), this coalition has made a concerted effort to reach out to and get the involvement of the IVD industry.
Besides reimbursement, the IVD industry should continue to find common ground on other issues and explore ways to foster its relationship with the laboratory community. In this issue’s In Person interview (“Partnering with the Clinical Laboratory,”), Rick Miller, the chairman of AACC’s industry division, makes a number of suggestions and points out several areas in which the two sectors have common ground.
Richard Park
Copyright ©2005 IVD Technology
