Shipment Information and Courses from MediaLab, Inc.

Scenario 4: The donor returns from the restroom with a sufficient specimen. It is very warm to the touch. The collector is unable to obtain a reading from the temperature strip. Collector's response: The collector completes the collection and prepares the specimen for shipment. The collector explains the situation with a supervisor. If the supervisor concurs that an observed collection is in order, the collector next tells the donor that a new collection will be conducted under direct observation. The collector explains that because the temperature of the specimen was not within the acceptable range (90-100° F/32-38° C) there is suspicion of substitution or adulteration. A new CCF is initiated. The collector marks on the CCF that the collection is observed and notes under Remarks why it is observed. The collector also notes the control number of the suspect collection. The observed specimen along with the suspect specimen are both shipped to the laboratory in separate plastic tamper-resistant bags.

In this section, options are given in the box "Transport details" for "Passenger and cargo aircraft" , or "Cargo aircraft only". You must delete the one that is not applicable. To the right of this box is an area for Shipment type, "non-radioactive," or "radioactive." Again, you must delete the one that is not applicable. This is demonstrated below.

A study that was published in 2002 concluded that 68 - 87% of laboratory errors occur in the preanalytic and postanalytic stages of the testing process with the majority occurring in the preanalytic phase.* Steps in the pre-analytic phase occur both inside and outside the laboratory, and are performed by both laboratory and non-laboratory personnel. While the following list is not exhaustive, some of the most common sources of error in the preanalytic phase include:Patient preparation Patient not told to be fasting; improper or no instruction to patient on proper collection of specimen such as clean catch urine. Patient injured during phlebotomy Development of hematoma resulting in no specimen obtained for testing. Requisition errors Patient information missing, illegible, or on wrong patient; wrong tests ordered. Patient identification Patient incorrectly identified. Labeling of specimen Specimen not labeled or incorrectly labeled. Preparation of specimen Specimen centrifuged too long or not long enough; specimen placed in improper preservative.Storage of specimen Specimen not refrigerated or frozen as required or refrigerated when it should be at ambient temperature. Shipment of specimen Shipped at ambient temperature when it should have been shipped frozen; delay in shipment. Accessioning process including preparation for analysis Sorted into wrong batch; incorrect labeling. Order entry Incorrect data entered during manual entry of a test requisition. Specimen sub-optimal Not enough specimen for testing; visible hemolysis. Contamination Inadequate cleansing of venipuncture site resulting in contamination during blood culture collection. *Reference: Bonini P, Plebani M, Ceriotti F, Rubboli F. Errors in laboratory medicine. Clin Chem. 2002;48:691-698. Available at http://www.clinchem.org/cgi/content/full/48/5/691#T2BAccessed June 23, 2010.