Regulatory change impact upon hospital laboratory operations.

Dealing with the constantly changing regulatory landscape has become a routine aspect of the work of any hospital administrator or clinician in the past several years--and the laboratorian is no exception. Recently, however, two aspects of regulatory change have particular potential to require attention from the laboratory manager. They are the Resource-Based Relative Value Scale (RBRVS) Fee Schedule for Medicare Physician Payment and the Proposed Prospective Payment System for Inpatient Hospital Capital-Related Costs.