Sept. 29th National Press Club Briefing

Lab tests help achieve health reform goals of prevention, quality improvement, and value, says new Lewin Group report

See below for full report, case studies, press release, slides

Amidst ongoing debate in Congress over reforming the nation's health care system, a new report released from the Lewin Group identifies the role of screening and diagnostic laboratory tests in achieving health care reform goals through prevention, early detection and treatment, and better targeting.

Lewin Group VP Clifford Goodman discussed the study, The Value of Laboratory Screening and Diagnostic Tests for Prevention and Health Care Improvement, in a briefing sponsored by ACLA and Results for Life, in conjunction with the Advanced Medical Technologies Association (AdvaMed).

With the Lewin Report as a backdrop, the session featured a panel of experts from government and academia who addressed the value of prevention. Moderated by John Iglehart, National Correspondent for the New England Journal of Medicine, the panel included:

• Neera Tanden, senior advisor, HHS Office of Health Reform, domestic policy advisor to the Obama campaign
  
  
• Michael O'Grady, senior fellow at the National Opinion Research Center, co-author of the study, "Using Clinical Information to Project Federal Health Care Spending," in Health Affairs, Sept. 2009
  
  
• Susan Snyder, senior economist, Division of Laboratory Systems, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  
  
• Cliff Goodman, Lewin Group Vice President

See speaker bios. See below for the full Lewin report and case studies, as well as press release and fact sheets.

Laboratory screening and diagnostic tests are essential for achieving the goals of health system reform

According to the new Lewin Group report, the contributions of clinical laboratory screening and diagnostic tests to the health system goals are substantial. As an essential component of high quality of care, laboratory tests are used for much more than diagnosis of disease in symptomatic individuals. Laboratory testing is an integral part of many medical decisions, providing clinicians with often pivotal information necessary for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management of disease.

• Press Release
  
  
• Fact Sheets on Lewin case studies
  • Rapid Testing for MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus
  • Screening for Type 2 Diabetes and Prediabetes with HbA1c
  • Diagnostic Testing for KRAS Genetic Mutation in thos with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
  • Screening for Cervical Cancer with HPV Genetic Test

• Full Report and Case Studies: The Value of Laboratory Screening and Diagnostic Tests for Prevention and Health Care Improvement
  • Rapid Testing for MRSA (page A-3 of full report)
  • Screening for Type 2 Diabetes and Prediabetes with HbA1c (page A-17)
  • Diagnostic Testing for KRAS Genetic Mutation in those with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer (page A-33)
  • Screening for Cervical Cancer with HPV Genetic Test (page A-47)

• Slides
  • Clifford Goodman, VP Lewin Group
  • Michael O'Grady, Senior Fellow, National Opinion Research Center