Bio-Reference

Source: Healthcare Digital

Date :22/11/2007 11:25:25

Bio-Reference Laboratories Inc. is committed to making a difference as well as convincing healthcare professionals of the benefits of laboratories.

Written by Ian Armitage and Produced by Sean Bakke

Bio-Reference Laboratories Inc., a public health company since it was founded in December 1981, and a clinical laboratory since 1986, was started by Dr. Marc Grodman, M.D., and he has been chairman, president and CEO since its formation. With nearly 1,700 employees and revenues that will approach a quarter of a billion dollars this fiscal year.

“We are the largest regional clinical laboratory operating in the Northeast,” explains Dr. Grodman. “In addition to full-service offerings in the NYC super-region, we maintain focused national markets in hematopathology, correctional healthcare, informatics and genomics.”

Dr. Grodman has long recognized the value of healthcare information and the substantial role that diagnostic data plays in healthcare analysis. Bio-Reference has developed information technology solutions designed to reduce healthcare costs and improve quality performance based on all available healthcare data.

After obtaining his BA from the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Grodman received his MD from Columbia, attended Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, was a Primary Care Clinical Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital and is currently an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in addition to his duties at Bio-Reference.

“What we are trying to achieve here tells you an awful lot about me as a person and of Bio-Reference as a company,” he continues. “We are not satisfied with doing a good job; instead we are obsessed with doing something of value. Bio-Reference started from nothing and over the last two decades has achieved a great deal of positive outcomes in healthcare.

“It is an undervalued industry,” adds Dr. Grodman. “But boy is it critical.” As such, Bio-Reference has attempted to leverage its unique position in order to improve patient health. “It is positive to create a business where none existed; it is positive to create 1,700 jobs where none existed; it is positive to create quarter of a billion in revenues where there were none; but the lasting effect is how we can go in and influence patient care,” he stresses. “Despite our small size we are confident we can have that influence.”

Information centers

For a number of years, Dr. Grodman has held the opinion that laboratories are information companies, generating data. How that data is then used and incorporated to improve medical practice is part of the vision Bio-Reference maintains.

The information must be accurate and timely, as well as accessible and formatted in a way that helps patients as a whole. “The new entities that we have created like CareEvolve, which promotes connectivity of laboratory data and other health information, and PSI Medica, which helps population managers to understand and analyze healthcare data including medical and pharmaceutical along with laboratory data, all speak to the underlying role of the laboratory as an information company,” explains Dr. Grodman.

Bio-Reference also works hard to ensure it fills the gap between academia and clinical practice. It has made an entry into the area of genetics with the acquisition of GeneDx, a specialized laboratory that does more DNA sequencing diagnostics than any laboratory Dr. Grodman knows of. “The future is not only in the diagnosis of rare disorders, but in being able to go and look at the genetic variants of common disorders. We have to take that which is known in the laboratory and give it clinical reliance, translating if you will the technical capability potential into clinical tools,” he comments.

“We also need to look for new modalities, new platforms of testing that we can introduce to physicians,” adds Dr. Grodman. To do that, and make sure it introduces the right platforms, Bio-Reference needs to be on the forefront of technology. “In addition to that, we must deliver a culture where the customer is the top priority. We need to bring that sense of urgency into a critical laboratory, so that they get treated much faster,” says Dr. Grodman.

Creating an environment where employees feel they are part of building something special is also high on the company agenda, as there is nothing more rewarding than being part of a winning, growing and successful team. What’s more, according to Dr. Grodman, Bio-Reference must be used as a means to explain the underlying value of laboratories: “This is an incredible industry which reaches into all areas of patient care – we need to demonstrate to those around us the underlying value of laboratory custom,” he explains.

Proving its value

The laboratory industry is currently at somewhat of a crossroads; Bio-Reference’s influence, involvement and value have never been greater and there has never been such huge potential. However, as Dr. Grodman says “there are still too many who want to view us in a less than specialized light and that is something that we have to fight. We need to prove our value everyday.”

The rising health care costs aren’t helping this plight. Professionals are forcing laboratories to lower costs, which could influence quality. “Just because health care costs are going up doesn’t mean we will pass on additional costs to our customers,” says Dr. Grodman. “We need to improve our value.”

Bio-Reference is in a great position. In terms of growth, that is being driven by genetics and oncology. Both areas have endless potential. But has 2007 been a successful year? Many think so, but Dr. Grodman tends to view success in a different light: “I would rather focus on what we have to do to make 2008 a successful year and when we finish 2008 we won’t dwell on any successes and move onto 2009. That’s what the nature of operating a public company is like and that is how we view our business. We always want to improve.”

It is hard to think of another laboratory that has grown as well in as many areas over the years as Bio-Reference. It has enjoyed 13 years of 20 percent annual compound growth, which is unheard of in the sector. Many laboratories have performed well in recent years or for short periods of time, but none have sustained growth as well as Bio-Reference. “We have committed ourselves to growth and supporting growth,” says Dr. Grodman.

So where does the future lie? Well, rising healthcare costs and the continuing challenge to prove its worth is something that Bio-Reference, as well as the entire industry has to tackle. According to Dr. Grodman, the industry is willing to do this. These claims are supported by the American Clinical Laboratories Association’s ‘Results for Life’ campaign, which is committed to conveying the values of laboratory services and which is, incidentally, chaired by Dr. Grodman.

“The combination of finding new ways to leverage our assets and being able to prove our worth are basic challenges that affect us today,” concludes Dr. Grodman. “That is in addition to the everyday outstanding service we offer our clients. Clearly the main area of development for us is going to be deciding how to best use our information and utilize technology, leveraging the information and technology that is available today to clinical relevance and patient care. That is the fulfillment of our vision.”