Although the hematology market remains steady, advances in software have led to automated resulting and reporting rules, better patient data management and increased data storage. But did you know that some facilities use imaging software to perform differential reviews previously done only by trained laboratory professionals?
Indeed, the largest advances have been in digital morphology automation. Digital morphology allows automation of a complete blood count (CBC) differential, a procedure once strictly a manual process of counting and differentiating cells done using a microscope.
Although many small to medium volume laboratories still employ the manual method of doing a differential, the high volume facilities have automated this process. Automation of the manual differential improves resource utilization, the quality and speed of the results, and helps to standardize the differential process across facilities and personnel. One of the reasons for the popularity of such systems is the lack of trained medical technologists in the workforce today.
Adding imaging software automation to the hematology lab can tack on $85,000 to $140,000 to the cost of a hematology analyzer. Reimbursement for the blood count (CBC) differential is fairly unchanged, and a manual differential will only reimburse a few dollars more than the automated differential test. In addition one has to consider the cost of licenses and software maintenance and upgrades. For high-volume laboratories the extra cost of automating can be recouped by requiring less trained FTE’s and increasing the output volume of results.
The hematology market is seeing an increased interest in vendors who can offer automation and scalability of instruments. Some vendors have developed their own imaging instruments to add to their portfolio of hematology products, giving them a significant competitive lead.
Hematology Analyzer
Low High Average Price
$9,800.00 $426,920.00 $112,086.00
System Service Support Prices
Low High Average Price
$1,600.00 $68,952.00 $15,620.00
Data Source: MD Buyline
Please note these numbers have been adjusted to exclude special deals, outliers, and unique circumstances.