Page 161 - Registrar Orientation Manual 2016

Order of specimen draw:
Specimen labelling:
test results. See also the attached minimum collection volume for blood tests guide and swab guide.
Order of Draw tube guide charts are available on the ward. Copy attached. Note the order of draw at Waikato Hospital is different to that at the Rural hospitals.
Please use vacuum collection system rather than collection by syringe as this system gives a better quality of sample. Note instructions for handling different tube types and specific test transport requirements.
Mislabelled and unlabelled samples pose a serious clinical risk caused through misdiagnoses and subsequent incorrect treatment or through delays in availability of test results.
Labelling must include 2 patient identifiers (full name and NHI and/or DoB), either legibly hand written (mandatory for blood bank) or an iPM generated small label. Please do not use the larger request form label or wrap labels around tubes. Laboratory staff need to be able to see the sample in the tube. Labels affixed as flags also prevent samples from being loaded on to some analysers.
Other additional requirements may include; time, specimen type, site of origin. The laboratory reserves the right to reject unlabelled or mislabelled specimens. Phone the laboratory if in doubt – there are a few exceptions where procuring a further specimen is difficult (e.g. CSF, Arterial Blood gas specimens, babies etc). Please refer to the Waikato DHB policy Labelling requirements for Laboratory Samples and Forms – available on the intranet in the administration & clinical manual in the controlled document centre. See flow chart for process for labelling discrepancies below.
The Laboratory records and reports problems with specimens and labelling and these are collated as clinical incidents.