Ring in the new, it’s 2002
We began 2000 and 2001 with some debate over which year technically ushered in the new millennium. We celebrated 2000 as the start of our next century, but in many important ways it seems it is this year, 2002, that truly dawned on a new world.
Clinical lab professionals did not have to look far to find what everyone groped for through the ash clouds of last September 11th: real meaning in what we do in our daily lives. Like all of our rediscovered heroes, the purpose behind your work is to protect people’s lives and health. Some days, that may seem obscured by the details of fiscal pressures, personnel issues and reimbursement tangles — so let me add our staff’s voices to those who remember and appreciate the work that you and your staff do every day to keep us well.
And staying well is certainly the theme of this new era. The concepts of safety, prevention and earlier intervention have found new resonance in our culture at large. Fortunately in the clinical lab, we are rapidly gaining ground in earlier detection of diseases through increasingly sensitive tests and accurate markers. These are the tools to help stop the progression of disease before it reaches a point of devastation we cannot afford. At the same time, improvements in ergonomics and in the handling of hazardous materials keep our lab workers safer and healthier on the job.
Our contribution at CLP is to bring you the information to choose the best products and equipment for your own lab to meet the challenges ahead. Whether it’s industry trends, a brand new technology or a specific product enhancement, our aim is to deliver news that supports you in making your lab work better.
New in 2002, CLP will add several topics that reflect our commitment to keeping watch over important developments from the molecular level right up through government regulation.
As always, our cover brings you the newest products from diagnostic companies large and small at the moment they become available, by clearance or by waiver. Throughout our pages will be the concise, easy-to-read descriptions of everything you need from high-throughput automation to biological spray cleaners.
In 2002, we’ve added Industry Overview features on the Physician Office Lab and Lab Information Systems. Whether expansion in Physician Office Lab testing means more of certain tests will be done by your lab or fewer, it’s important to keep current on where that market segment growth is heading. And, whether computers are your personal pride or chronic migraine, LIS developments are the key to putting it all together to deliver results into the future. Connectivity brings us to the threshold of providing comprehensive, informed, and efficient services as never before.
Our Disease Management features recognize the crucial role of the laboratory as the information link between patients and clinicians in the long-term prescription for health. New for 2002 is Pediatrics, where early, incisive diagnostics brings lasting impact. We’ve also added a feature on Obesity/Eating Disorders, an epidemic in this country with direct relationships to diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. And, we’ll look at Disease Management in Trauma/ER, which reminds us again of what we understood last September: that a crisis isn’t just the moment we respond, but the moment we start over again to assess where we are going.
With an eye toward the future, CLP will continue as your unbiased resource for breakthrough technologies, economic strategies, and up-to-the minute product news. We’ve closely watched the tens of thousands of reader service inquiries you sent to us over the past year, to give us a reading of where your needs are. At the same time, we’ve worked to provide as many avenues of access to manufacturer’s information as possible, in our pages and via the internet. Please visit our website, www.clpmag.com, type in a keyword, and see what we mean. Products and planning, reimbursement and regulation, we’ll keep working to bring you news you can use.
From all of us at CLP, have a happy, healthy and safe New Year.
Scott Andersen
