CAP provides good direction on this most critical laboratory issue: GEN.40530 Phase I N/A YES NO
For specimens submitted to the laboratory from remote sites, is there a documented tracking system to ensure that all specimens are actually received? NOTE: Documentation should include time of dispatch and receipt, as well as condition of specimens upon receipt. An example of an acceptable tracking system is submission of a packing list (prepared by the client or courier) with each batch of client specimens, which may be checked against the specimens received by the laboratory. Some laboratory tests (e.g., coagulation assays) have limitations on time and temperature conditions between collection and analysis. This question applies to couriers/transportation systems that are part of the laboratory organization, not to outside courier systems. ____________________________________ Norm Burnham, MBA, MT(ASCP), CLS Director of Laboratory Operations ProPath - The Leader in Pathology Services 8267 Elmbrook Drive, Suite 100 Dallas, TX 75247 214.237.1602 Office 214.237.1802 Fax 214.709.7127 Cell Email: [email protected] To learn more about ProPath, please visit http://www.ProPath.com -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Terri Braud Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 12:28 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [Histonet] RE: specimen tracking from the OR We are a small hospital lab, too. There is a log book in the OR, where specimens are placed for Histo pick up. The circulating nurse puts a Patient sticker and handwrites all specimens removed from the patient, regardless of what they are, and whether or not they have been walked down, tubed, or waiting pickup. We make sure that all specimens we remove are listed in the book, then sign/date/time for them. Any specimen left for us and not in the book, or vice versa, we bring to the attention of the OR control desk. If we make a run and there are no specimens to pick up, then we still sign and date/time the log book as "no specimens". Any specimens brought to the department are checked before accepting. Crude and time consuming, yes....accurate, too. Terri L. Braud, HT(ASCP) Anatomic Pathology Supervisor Laboratory Holy Redeemer Hospital and Medical Center 1648 Huntingdon Pike Meadowbrook, PA 19046 (215) 938-3676 phone (215) 938-3689 fax 6. log book (Kathy Gorham) Message: 6 Date: Sun, 01 Mar 2009 17:15:47 -0800 From: "Kathy Gorham" <[email protected]> Subject: [Histonet] log book Good Monday Morning, We had a serious incident Friday with O.R. My aide went down to get the specimens from O.R. about 9am. (which were left overs from the night before). She did not stamp in the specimens before she left. When I had time to stamp them in and record them in the log book I discovered that the colon was not there. Two other specimens from that patient where in the bag but no colon. So I went down to O.R. to see where it was. Of course no one knows what happened to the colon. The doctors are furious by all means. Now the O.R. thinks the path lab screwed up. So my questions is how do others log in the specimens as they come into the lab. We have 2 couriers that brings specimens when we are not in the lab from other hospitals. How do you make sure that whom ever brings the specimens actually brings the ones they say they do? Do you have a log book that every specimen that is brought into the lab is written down by the person who brings it in? Right now we have a log book but it is written in as we are accessing the specimens. So the specimens may have been there overnight. We are a very small lab and we do almost everything by hand including writing in the log book. Someday we want to be able to scan by bar codes but right now we can not do that. Thanks for any help you can give me. Kathy Gorham, H.T. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This E-Mail is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it was sent. It may contain information that is privileged and/or confidential, and the use or disclosure of such information may also be restricted under applicable federal and state law. If you received this communication in error, please do not distribute any part of it or retain any copies, and delete the original E-Mail. Please notify the sender of any error by E-Mail. Thank you for your cooperation. _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list [email protected] http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list [email protected] http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
