Specimen labeling errors have long plagued the laboratory industry putting patients at risk of
transfusion-related death, medication errors, misdiagnosis, and patient mismanagement
. Many interventions have been implemented and deemed to be effective in reducing sample error rates.
Why is it important that a patient is properly identified when obtaining a specimen?
Identification of the patient is crucial to ensuring that
the blood specimen is drawn
for the correct patient. The likelihood of error occurring in the area of collecting and handling specimens is probably greater than the likelihood of error occurring in the procedure itself.
Why is it important to label specimens?
Accurately identifying patients and correctly labeling specimens
are critical to ensure patient safety. If a specimen in not accurately identified, it can lead to delayed or wrong diagnoses, missed or incorrect treatments, blood transfusion errors, and more.
What are the rules for labeling specimen?
To maintain patient safety standards,
specimens must be properly labeled with the name of the patient
, a numerical identifier that is unique to the patient (like DOB or SSN), collection date, and the source of the specimen, where applicable.
When should a specimen be labeled and why?
Patient identification must be verified immediately before any specimen collection procedure using two patient identifiers.
Specimens MUST be labeled in the presence of the patient
.
What is the best thing to do with an unidentified specimen?
Unlabeled or unidentified specimens will NOT be processed until properly labeled by physician or their designee. The specimen must be accompanied by
a Surgical Pathology Order
. Completion of ALL essential information will optimize tissue interpretation and patient care.
How an improper specimen can affect a patient’s results?
Errors in specimen labeling lead
to a higher number of inaccurate test results
(e.g. wrong patient-wrong results), which can delay patient’s results and treatment options.
What does squeezing the skin puncture site do to the specimen?
Prepare the skin
Wipe away the first drop of blood because it may be contaminated with tissue fluid or debris (sloughing skin). Avoid squeezing the finger or heel too tightly because this dilutes the specimen with tissue fluid (plasma) and
increases the probability of haemolysis
(60).
Why do we need to collect biological specimen?
Through collection and preservation efforts,
new species are found and described
. … Specimens in museums, along with the data provided on the specimen labels constitute an historic record of biological diversity and can be used to document changes in distribution and abundance of species over time.
What are the consequences if you use the wrong tube?
Using the wrong tube,
collecting an insufficient quantity, and blood clotting
can lead to delays in care and erroneous lab values. Electron- ic systems that generate labels specifying which type of tube to use can virtually eliminate wrong- tube errors.
What could cause a specimen to be rejected?
The most common reasons for specimen rejection were
contamination
(n=764, 35.1%), inappropriate collection container/tube (n=330, 15.2%), quantity not sufficient (QNS) (n=329, 15.1%), labeling errors (n=321, 14.7%), hemolyzed specimen (n=205, 9.4%), and clotted specimen (n=203, 9.3%).
Which information does not get put onto a specimen label?
Any specimen is unlabeled if the container holding the specimen (test tube, urine container, surgical specimen container, etc.) does
not have the patient’s first and last name
, medical record number, collection date and time, specimen type, and test required on it.
How can specimen labeling errors be reduced?
The first step in reducing specimen labeling errors is to ensure that appropriate specimen collection policies and procedures are developed, implemented and followed.
Ongoing staff in-service training and competency assessment
are important aspects of reducing specimen labeling errors.
What is the purpose of specimen collection?
It is a
foundational principle for any laboratory test procedure
that the value of the test is compromised or even negated by using specimens that have not been properly collected, labelled, handled or stored prior to and during the testing process.
What does no specimen received mean?
Rejected Specimen. –A specimen that is judged by the laboratory to be unsuitable for analysis or must be recollected (eg, specimen lost or not received, inadequately labeled or unlabeled, hemolyzed, clotted, of insufficient quantity, or of unacceptable variance with previous or expected results).
What type of stool specimen must be sent to the laboratory immediately?
A stool specimen
for the presence of ova or parasites
must be taken to the laboratory immediately. What is the probable source of bright red blood in the stool?
