Archive for March 2016

Medicare Gets This One Right--For Now!

If you change your mind… …I’m the first in line. ABBA-1978 A few months ago I wrote a blog post about a Medicare proposal that was absolutely blowing my mind. CMS, the agency that runs Medicare, had it in it’s collective head that the prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test, the test that checks men for... Read more »
By lesraff,
March 31, 2016 at 7:05 am • 

Can Newman and Redford Paint Our Lab or Fund Our House?

  Remember-one man’s ceiling… …is another man’s floor. Paul Simon–1973 How many of you remember the two great Paul Newman/Robert Redford buddy films from the late 60’s-early 70’s? Most people of our certain age can probably recall “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” but my favorite was “The Sting.” The two played a pair of... Read more »
By lesraff,
March 29, 2016 at 6:42 am • 

Never Let a Doctor Plan Your Lunch!

You can get anything you want… …at Alice’s Restaurant Arlo Guthrie-1967 It seemed like an easy enough chore, planning for a laboratory meeting next week. We have a few things to discuss, including an upcoming accreditation inspection. Lunch time meetings tend to be the most convenient and are the norm, with the company usually ordering... Read more »
By lesraff,
March 24, 2016 at 8:03 am • 
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5 Things Your Pathologist Never Told You

  Doctor, doctor… …give me the news. Robert Palmer-1979 We have been called “The Doctor’s Doctor.” Pathologists stood in the background for decades, running laboratories, interpreting biopsies, staging tumors and making diagnoses. We rarely exposed ourselves directly to patients. There is even a law in New York State that explicitly prevents such contact. But now... Read more »
By lesraff,
March 21, 2016 at 8:02 am • 

March Madness Bracketology-Presidential Style

  I’m winning… …and I don’t intend, on losing again. Santana, 1981 March Madness! How have your brackets been doing? Michigan State? Kanas? Oh, no, I am not talking about THAT March Madness. I am talking about that other hardcourt, hardball challenge, the 2016 Presidential Campaign. Just as the the NCAA Men’s Basketball Season started... Read more »
By lesraff,
March 18, 2016 at 10:37 am • 

FISH: A Little Known Lab Test for an Important Disease

And it’s one two three… …what are we fighting for? Country Joe McDonald and the Fish-1965 It is early morning, 6:30 a.m. I sit in a dark room, staticky music from WXRT playing on the beat up radio in the corner. The setting is ripe for meditating, but my meditation consists of peering through a... Read more »
By lesraff,
March 16, 2016 at 11:03 am • 
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Donald Trump Takes On Artificial Intelligence

Oh the games people play now… …Every night and every day now. Joe South–1968 A “Downsize, Maybe” interview with Mr. Donald Trump: “So I have been hearing a lot about this artificial intelligence machine, Google’s AlphaGo. I hear Google didn’t actually develop this thing, they just bought the company. It was a British company. Now... Read more »
By lesraff,
March 14, 2016 at 8:05 am • 

We Have Wood! Construction Progress

Isn’t it good… …Norwegian wood. The Beatles-1965 Spring is definitely in the air. Daylight Savings Time begins this weekend. And a peak over our construction fence lets us know that this is the season for building. In the last week, quite a bit has been accomplished. The concrete foundation has cured, and a layer of... Read more »
By lesraff,
March 10, 2016 at 9:36 am • 

No "Lovie" for Our Lab

We’re Loyal to You Illinois… …We’re “Orange and Blue” Illinois The University of Illinois have some big news. Former Chicago Bears Head Coach Lovie Smith is the new Head Coach of the Fighting Illini football team. This really draws statewide attention to the school. What a tremendous boost for the team’s biggest challenge, recruitment. And... Read more »
By lesraff,
March 7, 2016 at 9:11 am • 
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Testing the Tester--Lab Inspections 101

Hey look me over… …lend me an ear. Wildcat-1960 A few months ago I wrote about some difficulties at Theranos, the laboratory testing company in California that was going to do more with less. Less blood that is. Since then, Theranos has had another lab inspection with less than stellar results, and major business partner... Read more »
By lesraff,
March 4, 2016 at 11:35 am •