A Rational Approach to Celiac Testing
Price: $95.00
This seminar discusses the basics of immunology (antibodies, antigens and testing techniques) and the use of serologic assays to aid the MD in the diagnosis of celiac disease and gluten enteropathies. Laboratory and clinical findings are presented. The laboratorian will understand the disease and diagnostic process. Also included is a discussion of the various techniques used in identification of antibody patterns seen in celiac disease. The discussion includes past, present and new assays.
Measurable Learning Objectives:
At the end of this activity the participant will be able to:
- Introduce the basics of Celiac disease progression
- Discuss the complexity of symptoms of Celiac Disease
- Review modern testing techniques
- Discuss basis of disease control
Presenter:
Carl Schroder, MT (ASCP) MPA, IFA
Technical Sales Manager for Inova Diagnostics
Carl recieved his B.S. in Microbiology and M.P.A in Health Care Administration from Brigham Young University. He joined the US Army and was assigned to an Immuno-virology lab. He received his Medical Technologist Training while in the army. He spent 16 years at ARUP Reference Lab supervising various immunology labs, teaching MT, MLT and post doctorate students as well as Pathology Residents at the University of Utah Medical School before joining INOVA diagnostics as a sales representative in 2003. He is now the IFA Technical Sales Manager for INOVA.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT MEGAN HINCH
Part 2: Ethical, Financial & Quality Heartaches Related to the Explosion of Genetic Testing
Price: $195
In part 2, we continue to debate the growth of genetic testing, this time giving more emphasis to technical breakthroughs in addition to continuing to answer your related questions about ethics, finance and quality. Our experts describe the different technical platforms used for gene sequencing such as Sanger, multi-gene Sanger panels, multi-gene NGS panels, exomes, and genomes, and attempt to predict the future, which is always a dangerous –but entertaining--proposition.
Measurable Learning Objectives:
At the end of this activity the participant will be able to:
- Discussion of the 3 top ethical challenges in genetic testing
- Identify 2 ways regulate the ordering of exome/ whole genome sequencing and the limitations associated with next generation sequencing (NGS) testing
- Discussion 2 specific trends related to next generation sequencing in cancer
Moderator:
Mike Astion, MD, PhD,
Medical Director, Department of Laboratories Seattle Children’s Hospital, Clinical Professor University of Washington Laboratory Medicine
Panelists: Our panelists will also answer any related questions during the one hour discussion. See LabTalk FAQ's attached below for more information!
John Thompson, Research and Development, Claritas Genomics
Luke Drury, PhD, PreventionGenetics
Darci Sternen, Genetic Counselor, Seattle Children's Hospital, Department of Laboratories
Karen Tsuchiya, MD, Seattle Children's Hospital, Department of Laboratories
Holly Tabor, PhD, Seattle Children’s Hospital
Colin Pritchard, MD, PhD, University of Washington
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT MEGAN HINCH
A Rational Approach to Cardiogenetic Testing
Price: $195.00
Dr. Chatfield will be speaking about approaches to cardiogenetic testing. Three groups of inherited disorders that primarily affect the cardiovascular system will be discussed: cardiomyopathy, connective tissue disorders, and familial cardiac malformation syndromes. Discussion will be focused on the value of genetic testing to the cardiologists, strategies for testing, and impact of testing on clinical management using case examples.
Level of Instruction: Intermediate
Contact Hours Awarded: 1.0
Measurable Learning Objectives:
At the end of this activity the participant will be able to:
- List three major groups of inherited disorders that cause cardiovascular disease.
- Describe the value of genetic testing is for patients and families with inherited cardiovascular disorders.
- Understand the impact of testing on clinical management for patients with familial cardiovascular disease.
Presenter:
Kathryn Chatfield, MD
Instructor of Pediatrics, Cardiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Director of Cardiac Genetics Clinic
Kathryn received her medical degree at Dartmouth Medical School and Dr. Chatfield's clinical interests include Marfan Syndrome and related connective tissue disorders, Noonan-spectrum disorders, familial congenital heart disease, metabolic and inherited forms of cardiomyopathy. Her research focus is the role of mitochondrial energy metabolism in pediatric cardiomyopathy and heart failure. She is also a principle investigator for two clinical studies evaluating substances in blood that may serve as markers for aortic disease in Marfan syndrome.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT MEGAN HINCH
Even more ways to Have a Difficult but Necessary Conversation with Your Lab Staff! Part deux.
Price: $195
Three experts who have suffered for more than half a century in the lab answer your toughest management questions. Can you stump them? We think not!!
Measurable Learning Objectives
At the end of this activity the participant will be able to:
- Describe two approaches to dealing with problem employees
- List four best practices that will help your lab achieve a better patient safety culture.
- Identify 2 ways to successfully connect lab staff with patient care
Moderator:
Mike Astion, MD, PhD, Medical Director, Department of Laboratories Seattle Children’s Hospital, Clinical Professor University of Washington Laboratory Medicine
Panelists: Our panelists will also answer any related questions during the one hour discussion. See LabTalk FAQ's for more information!
We will be finalizing our panelists for this webinar shortly!
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT MEGAN HINCH
Evaluating the Medical Necessity of Genetic Testing Price: $195
Ms. Bennett will review the current genetic testing utilization landscape and discuss factors leading to trends in unnecessary genetic testing. She will describe how insurance companies and third party payers can implement systems to reduce unnecessary genetics testing.
Measurable Learning Objectives:
At the end of this activity the participant will be able to:
- Describe 3 factors leading to current trends in unnecessary genetic testing.
- Understand 3 common domains of genetic testing misuse
- Describe 3 interventions to reduce unnecessary genetic testing
Presenter:
Melissa Bennet, MS
Clinical Director, Lab Management Program CareCore National LLC
Melissa Bennett is the Clinical Director for the CareCore National Laboratory Management Program. She directs the development of evidence-based medical policy, decision support algorithms, and clinical content. Melissa is board certified and received her Master of Science degree in genetic counseling from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in 1997. She began her career in a maternal fetal medicine practice, counseling over 1000 high-risk patients per year. Melissa then turned her focus to laboratory genetics, spending over a decade in leadership positions at Myriad Genetics and Laboratory Corporations of America. Melissa is an active member of the National Society of Genetic Counselors, Healthcare Businesswomen's Association, and serves as an advisory board chair for the University of South Carolina genetic counseling program.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT MEGAN HINCH
Trends in Flow Cytometry
Price: $195
Dr. Cherian will discuss current applications in flow cytometry with an emphasis on pattern recognition approach. Topics covered will include minimal residual disease testing and flow cytometric evaluation of myeloid neoplasms.
Presenter:
Sindhu Cherian, MD
Assistant Professor, Laboratory Medicine, Associate Director of the Hematopathology Laboratory University of Washington
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT MEGAN HINCH
Creating, Communicating, and Maintaining Effective Laboratory SOPs
Price: $95.00
Consistency and quality go hand-in-hand, and one of the best ways to ensure consistency in laboratory operations is to develop, communicate and use standard operating procedures (SOPs) that support the goals of your lab and institution. In addition to assuring quality, good laboratory SOPs can help your lab comply with regulations, protect it in situations where legal liability may be in question, and empower laboratory staff to reject requests that could put the lab or patients at risk.
Presenter:
Otelah M. Perry, MS, MT, MB(ASCP), CQPA
Quality Systems Manager, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Hanover, NH
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Designing an Effective Quality Dashboard for the Clinical Laboratory
Price: $95.00
Your lab has taken steps to track a range of quality metrics, but is the data centralized and presented in a way that will help you continuously monitor your quality improvement efforts? Can you easily identify trouble spots that could potentially be affecting patient care? A well-designed laboratory quality dashboard—a data visualization tool that shows at a glance how well your clinical lab is meeting its quality goals—can provide you and your clinicians with relevant and timely information that improves the quality of patient care.
Presenter:
Kristina Martin, MLS(ASCP)CM, MS
Clinical Pathology Operations Coordinator, University of Michigan Hospital
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Modern Approaches to Quality Control: Moving Averages and Beyond
Price: $95.00
Testing technologies are constantly evolving, but labs still rely mainly on traditional quality control (QC) approaches to ensure that assays are performing as expected. Traditional QC has many advantages, and is an essential part of any laboratory quality assurance program, but QC events represent only a snapshot in time, measuring assay performance at the moment QC is performed. What if your lab could gather information on assay performance with each new patient sample?
Presenter:
Mark A. Cervinski, PhD, DABCC, Director of Clinical Chemistry at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Assistant Professor of Pathology, The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
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Clinical Laboratory Overutilization: Getting the Waste Out
Price: $95.00
In this lecture Dr. Astion uncovers the reason behind the excessive ordering of lab tests. Through his years of lab medicine experience, Dr. Astion gives you the intervention tools to use with internal and external clients. These interventions vary from gentle guidance through strong restrictions on test ordering. The results are decreased costs to clinical laboratories, increased value to patients, and higher lab profitability.
Presenter:
Dr. Michael Astion MD, PhD
Division Chief of Laboratory Medicine, Seattle Children's Hospital
Clinical Professor: University of Washington Department of Medicine
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Send-out-omics: Reducing Errors and Improving Quality in Send-out Tests
Price: $95.00
Many laboratories have seen send-out testing volumes steadily increase in the past decade. This webinar will discuss the “the send-out problem”, including cost, the complexity, and increased risk of error and patient harm, as well as describe how to implement strategies which will improve the quality of send-out testing.
Presenter:
Jane Dickerson, PhD
Co-Director of Chemistry Division, Seattle Children's Hospital
Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Washington Department of Laboratory Medicine
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Application of the Toyota Production System to the Clinical Laboratory
Price: $95.00
A detailed overview of the principles used in Toyota's Production System. Using the clinical laboratory to study why this route is used for improvement and review results of implementation. Correlating a diverse set of examples from the lab while pointing out what it takes to develop and particular pitfalls to avoid.
Presenter:
Dr. Joe Rutledge, MD
Director of Laboratory Medicine, Seattle Children's Hospital
Clinical Professor: University of Washington Department of Medicine.
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Chromosome Conundrums: Challenges in Chromosomal Microarray Interpretation
Price: $95.00
Chromosomal microarrays have replaced G-banded karyotyping as the first-tier cytogenetic diagnostic test for patients with developmental delay, autism spectrum disorders, or multiple congenital anomalies. Yet despite their superior resolution and ability to uncover abnormalities/entities that are not detectable by conventional cytogenetics, chromosomal microarrays are not without their own limitations and challenges. In this lecture, Dr. Tsuchiya will describe the utility of current SNP-based microarrays in clinical testing, and some of the challenges associated with this testing, particularly in the area of result interpretation and reporting.
Presenter:
Karen Tsuchiya, MD
Director of Cytogenetics, Seattle Children’s Hospital
Associate Professor of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington Medical Center
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Happy Lab, Happy Life: Addressing Commonly Neglected Human Resource Considerations in the Lab
Price: $95.00
This lecture describes some of the human resource considerations that apply most directly to patient safety and the clinical lab. The topics covered include:
- The normalization of deviance in some clinical labs
- Implementing “just culture”
- The problems caused by self assessment
- Disconnection of lab workers from patient care
- Fatigue
Solutions are presented for each of the problems that are described.
Presenter:
Michael Astion, MD PhD
Division Chief, Laboratory Medicine, Seattle Children’s Hospital
Clinical Professor, University of Washington Dept. of Laboratory Medicine
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Whole Genome Sequencing: What do patients want? What do patients need?
Price: $95.00
The Genome as a Resource: Ethical and Practical Challenges in Exome and Whole Genome Sequencing
Presenter:
Holly K. Tabor, PhD
Assistant Professor of pediatrics in the Division of Bioethics at University Washington School of Medicine and the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics
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Connecting Laboratory Staff to the Patient Experience: A Recipe for Success
Price: $95.00
During this program, Dr. Corinne Fantz will discuss the value of developing personal connections between laboratory staff and patients. You will hear how detachment from patients relates to risk of patient harm, how “factory-like production” in clinical labs can interfere in the relationship between lab personnel and patients, and how lab employees can overcome perceived barriers that prevent them from making connections with patients.
Presenter:
Corinne R. Fantz, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Emory University, Dept. of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Co-Director, Core Laboratories and Point of Care Testing Emory Medical Laboratories
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Resurgence of Pertussis Whooping Cough and the Role of Laboratory Testing
Price: $95.00
Bordetella pertussis is a Gram-negative bacterium that causes a highly contagious respiratory disease called pertussis whooping cough. Pertussis is a vaccine preventable infection. However, despite the implementation of vaccination since the 1950s, pertussis has persisted and resurged in highly vaccinated populations worldwide. This lecture will address the current pertussis epidemiology, how laboratory diagnosis plays a significant role in clinical management of patients and infection prevention, and laboratory preparedness for disasters.
Presenter:
Dr. Xuan Qin
Associate Professor of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington Department of Laboratory Medicine
Director of Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Department of Laboratories
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Tweeting vs. Knitting: Overcoming Generational Conflicts in the Clinical Laboratory
Price: $95.00
Because our environment changes constantly, and can change drastically over the course of a decade, every generation is exposed to a series of unique events that defines its era. These events shape who we are and how we work. And while it’s important not to stereotype your employees and fellow workers, understanding generational characteristics can be useful when managing or working in a multi-generational laboratory.
Presenter:
Dr. Carmen Wiley
Carmen L. Wiley, Ph.D., DABCC, FACB, is currently the Co-director of Chemistry and Immunology and Point of Care Testing at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.
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The Unique and Complementary Role of the Laboratory Genetic Counselor
Price: $95.00
In this discussion, Jessie Conta will shed light on the increasingly important role the genetic counselor plays in the clinical laboratory. Jessie will share examples of how a genetic counselor can support the laboratory in many ways, including molecular test interpretation, interfacing with clinicians, and being a leader in lab and hospital policy initiatives related to genetic testing. Please join us for this timely and informative conversation!
Presenter:
Jessie Conta, MS CGC
Jessie Conta is a licensed genetic counselor in the Division of Laboratory Medicine at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
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Using Metrics in the Quality Laboratory: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Price: $95.00
This lecture touches on the common quality metrics that are utilized to assess performance in the clinical laboratory, and how one can assess how useful those metrics are in the context of your own laboratory. Topics to be covered include:
- Test Utilization Metrics
- Turnaround Time
- Delta Checking for Errors
- Call Center Efficiency
- Billing
Presenter:
Geoffrey S. Baird, MD PhD
Assistant Professor, Laboratory Medicine Adjunct Assistant Professor, Pathology University of Washington, Seattle Director of Clinical Chemistry Harborview Medical Center, Seattle.
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Immunodeficiency Syndromes with Emphasis on the Role of Testing
Price: $95.00
Dr. Torgerson will provide a basic overview of the immune system, then discuss basic laboratory testing that evaluates the various compartments of the immune system. He will then discuss modern laboratory testing approaches for immunodeficiency syndromes including screening tests, gene sequencing, and flow cytometry-based testing and will discuss how these are impacting the identification and care of patients with immune-mediated diseases.
Presenter:
Troy R. Torgerson, MD PhD
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The Lab’s Role in Managing Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
Price: $95.00
This lecture is provided by a pediatric endocrinologist who will discuss the important role of laboratory testing in diagnosing and monitoring congenital adrenal hyperplasia, as well as other disorders of sex development in infants. Dr. Fechner will touch on the different clinical presentations of congenital adrenal hyperplasia , role of newborn screening, types of laboratory testing used to aid in diagnoses, stimulation testing, appropriate use of molecular testing, and challenges with test interpretation.
Presenter:
Patricia Fechner, MD
Patricia Fechner, MD, is attending physician at Seattle Children’s Hospital and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington, School of Medicine
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Maldi-Tof: Rapid Bacterial Identification & Saving Lives in the Clinical Laboratory
Price: $95.00
The program looks at using next generation technology-MALDI-TOF coupled with Lean and Industrial Engineering principles to design a new, faster workflow system in microbiology. We will discuss validation of MALDI-TOF as well as the methods we used for designing, creating and implementing a new workflow system. Management topics include project management, change management and ways to sustain the change. Our experience with gains in quality of patient care will be discussed with examples.
Presenters:
Xuan Qin PhD (Division Chief Microbiology), Rosemary Martin (M)ASCP (Microbiology Supervisor)
Dr. Qin is the Microbiology Director at Seattle Children’s Hospital and Assistant Professor, Dept of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington (UW).
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Trends in Autoantibody Testing
Price: $95.00
Autoimmune disease testing is a complex, expensive, and often labor intensive. This lecture discusses the use of the ANA test, the anti-CCP test and several other important autoantibody tests. In addition the lecture covers technical trends in autoantibody testing with an emphasis on problems with classical methods and current approaches to automation. Lastly, a fascinating topic, the societal impact of autoimmune disease in the era of google-based medical care, is explored with humor and sensitivity.
Presenter:
Michael Astion, MD PhD
Medical Director, Department of Laboratories, Seattle Children’s Hospital
Clinical Professor, University of Washington Dept. of Laboratory Medicine
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Spotting Spotty Spots: Considerations in Monitoring Immunosuppressants in Dried Blood Spots
Price: $95.00
In this lecture, Dr. Dickerson discusses important considerations in the implementation of a clinical dried blood spot assay for immunosuppressants. Challenges of dried blood spot collection and sample quality will be addressed, as well as challenges in the logistical coordination of rolling out a family-centered collection program. Dr. Dickerson will also highlight dried blood spot research efforts in the Seattle Children’s laboratory.
Presenter:
Jane Dickerson, PhD, DABCC
Co-Director of Chemistry Division, Seattle Children's Hospital
Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Washington Department of Lab Medicine
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Achieving Concordance Between POCT Results and Central Lab Results
Price: $95.00
Clinicians expect laboratory test results to be reliable, regardless of whether the test is performed in the central laboratory or at the point-of-care (POC). Consequently, when a POC lactate test, for example, provides results that are different than those provided by its central laboratory counterpart, clinicians may not understand or appreciate that the two results are not interchangeable, and clinical decision-making could be affected.
Presenter:
Brad S. Karon, MD, PhD, FACB
Director of Point-of-Care Testing and Hospital Clinical Laboratories and Associate Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic
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Cystic Fibrosis Clinical Testing- The Good, and Bad, and The Confusing
Price: $95.00
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is one of the most common life-shortening genetic conditions. Advances in CF clinical testing have created opportunities for testing beyond diagnosis of the symptomatic individual. This presentation will describe the good, the bad, and the confusing ways that CF newborn screening, sweat chloride testing, and molecular genetic testing are affecting the care of symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. We will also review ways that our growing understanding of CF gene mutations is creating opportunities for personalized care for individuals with CF.
Presenters:
Stephanie Wallace, MD
Darci L. Sternen, MS, LGC
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