The diagnostics industry's buoyant health was evident at this year's American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) meeting in Los Angeles in July. Floor space sold out, the booths were bustling, and a record number of attendees—more than 18,000—registered to visit. The industry, in contrast to its malaise through much of the 1990s, has reimbursement, demographic, and labor shortage trends in its favor.
At $24.9 billion in revenues, the industry is projected to deliver another year of double-digit growth, following an 11% gain...