Northeast Tarrant Internal Medicine Associates

Type of Practice: Internal Medicine Practice in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex

Number of Physicians: 10 physicians (10 Internal Medicine, 2 specialized in Behavioral Medicine)

SMARTLabSM  Opened: July 2006

Previous lab services: NETIMA had a lab many years ago, but closed it due to the complications of adhering to the new rules of CLIA ’88.  They found that the time and investment it was going to take to be compliant was not worth the revenue.  Since that time, they had been doing only waived testing, such as HgA1c, PT and urine dips. 

Testing volume: Currently about 1500 tests per month

Impact on practice:  Having the laboratory at their fingertips, the doctors are able to really use the diagnostic testing as a tool in treating their patients.  When the practice decided to expand into a second building, NETIMA used POLESTAR’s expertise to help plan the lab space.  Polestar provided drawings and consulted with the architect to ensure an efficient lab work space. 

Lessons learned: Without having the SMARTLab turnkey approach, an in office laboratory would never have become a reality for the NETIMA practice again.  With Polestar handling the personnel, regulatory compliance and ongoing operations, having a lab again became a possibility.


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