While 2022 introduced many challenges to the clinical laboratory industry, it also was a year that saw lab professionals and stakeholders band together to advocate for the profession and achieve meaningful reform to help better serve their communities. From staving off Medicare payment cuts for crucial lab services to continuing to push for meaningful CLIA reform, the past year’s accomplishments will pay dividends for years to come.
Lighthouse Lab Services is proud of the role we played in helping to raise awareness of these issues through our industry communications, webinars, and other advocacy efforts. But before we focus on the coming year, we’d like to take a moment to celebrate a handful of our company’s most significant accomplishments from 2022.
“Lighthouse had a great 2022 and continues to show why it is the number one lab management and consulting firm in the country,” says Mark Roth, CEO of Lighthouse. “I am excited about the new offerings we are launching this year and know we have a bright future ahead of us in 2023 and beyond.”
Below is a rundown of some of our top achievements of 2022.
Recruiting Placements: 198
Part-Time Lab Directors Placed: 120
As the industry continues to deal with longstanding staffing and recruitment issues, recruiting and maintaining healthy staffing levels has never been more challenging for clinical labs. That’s why we’re proud to continue serving as a trusted staffing partner for labs and professionals seeking new opportunities.
Alongside the shortage of bench-level positions, CLIA Laboratory Directors also remain in limited supply. Fortunately, our extensive network allowed us to connect 120 labs with Part-Time Lab Directors (PTLD) in 2022. A PTLD can review SOPs, and monthly quality control logs, and perform all other appropriate responsibilities as dictated by CLIA through a combination of remote and on-site involvement, making them an ideal candidate for many labs.
Labs Built: 73
Although the overall number of new CLIA applications appears to be slowing in recent months, our team had its hands full in 2022 helping new lab owners bring their vision of starting a clinical lab to fruition. Our proven, step-by-step method covers every facet of the lab startup process, from initial consultation to go-live, and continues to make Lighthouse the top consultant in the US for starting or building new medical labs.
Regulatory Applications Submitted: 109
Consulting Projects Completed: 144
Our Quality Team helps clients navigate the complex federal and state regulatory landscape when starting a new lab or growing the test menu of their existing laboratory. Whether navigating CLIA, COLA, or CAP accreditation; or completing regulatory applications such as a CMS-116, we’re proud of the number of new labs we helped bring online and those we assisted in maintaining their current accreditation so they can continue serving their communities.
Payer Applications Submitted: 312
RCM Audits Completed: 140
While our Payer Strategy and RCM Solutions departments both joined Lighthouse in 2021, this past year both teams were rebranded from their legacy names and further integrated into the LLS suite of services. As the private payer landscape becomes increasingly complex, the Payer Strategy Team has been vital in helping our clients not only get in-network and negotiate favorable payment rates, but also educating labs on how to build a test menu that may be more appealing to various payers.
Meanwhile, our RCM Solutions team continues to be at the forefront of helping labs and pathologists improve their overall revenue cycles through a combination of routine auditing and compliant billing practices. If there is a flaw in your revenue cycle, our team identifies it and ensures your billing team understands how to address the issue moving forward. All while keeping you prepared to navigate the latest revenue changes within the industry.
Samples Reported from Beacon LIS: 880,000
As an end-to-end solution for all clinical laboratory needs, we’re proud to be able to continue to support laboratories seeking a Laboratory Information System (LIS) with our proprietary Beacon LIS. This year, our system reported more than 880,000 samples, helping to ensure results were reported in a secure and timely manner.
Total Volunteer Hours: 300+
As a company focused on “Community” as one of its four core values, we feel strongly that it’s important to encourage our team members to give back and help support the areas they call home. That’s why we give each employee two days of volunteer time off each year to use as they see fit. And as COVID receded and allowed more face-to-face interaction, our employees answered the call to support the needs of their communities.
Thanks again to our partners and team members who helped make 2022 a great year for Lighthouse Lab Services. If you’d like to learn more about how we can help your lab, don’t hesitate to reach out to us for a free consultation.