Please press F5 on your keyboard to commence Welcome to the Training Program for Minimum Pathology Labelling Requirements Please press F5 on your keyboard to commence

Pathology Specimen Labelling Requirements Click here to continue

Whenever you collect a sample for Pathology testing, it is imperative that you label it with the information needed to clearly identify which patient the sample has come from. We receive hundreds of samples every day, and partial or incorrect labelling of samples and/or request forms remains one of the most common reasons for being unable to process samples. Worse still, as many as 1 in 2000 samples do not even belong to the patient whose name appears on the tube (and that is only the ones that are detected!)(1) In order to maximise patient safety, National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (NSQHS) have been expanded regarding the labelling of Pathology samples and the collection of Blood Products. These standards will be adopted across Eastern Health in October, 2012. (1) Gonzalez-Porras, J. R., I. F. Graciani, et al. (2008). “Tubes for pretransfusion testing should be collected by blood bank staff and hand labelled until the implementation of new technology for improved sample labelling. Results of a prospective study.” Vox Sanguinis 95(1): 52-56. Click here to continue

What are the new requirements? Every sample and request form must be labelled with three unique identifiers in legible form and the details on form and sample must match FULL name (surname and given name) Date of Birth UR Number OR Medicare Number OR Full Address Also, under the new Laboratory Accreditation requirements, re-labelling of specimens is NOT PERMITTED. Any specimens that are inadequately or incorrectly labelled will need to be re-collected NO LABELS = NO TESTS Click here to continue

3 : UR or ADDRESS or MEDICARE NUMBER You must have..... 1 : FULL NAME OF PATIENT B654321 CITIZEN, JOHN 15 SMITH ST HMU YARRA JUNCTION 3456 39y PHONE: 035977777 05/08/73 Medicare No: 333333333/3 B123433 2 : DATE OF BIRTH 3 : UR or ADDRESS or MEDICARE NUMBER A UR label contains all the information we need, so this is acceptable on forms and tubes (make sure the sticker is for the right patient, though!) Click here to continue

While we’re talking about Request Forms….. ……you can help us to help you B654321 B654321 CITIZEN, JOHN 15 SMITH ST HMU YARRA JUNCTION 3456 39y PHONE: 035977777 05/08/73 Medicare No: 333333333/3 B123433 Clinical notes help us prioritise urgent samples and interpret results PR Bleed – PHx Ca Colon If you write the name of the test(s) you want CLEARLY AND LEGIBLY, there will be no confusion about what is required FBE U+E Clotting Profile Always include a contact number for critical alerts John Smith SMITH 3789 15 8 12 The specimen collector must complete this section Mary Nurse MARY NURSE 15 8 12 1550 Click here to continue

What about computer-generated request forms? Clinical Management Systems such as Symphony, and ehcare@eastern produce request forms (and in some cases, tube labels) which comply with the new requirements. The request forms generated by the software systems commonly used in General Practice also comply. REMEMBER, THE LABELLING ON THE TUBE AND THE REQUEST FORM MUST MATCH OR A RE-COLLECTION WILL BE REQUIRED

YES!! Is this for ALL samples? NO LABELS = NO TESTS Please note that the Zero Tolerance Criteria for Blood Bank testing still applies. Also, ‘precious’ samples such as biopsies and CSF will be processed but ONLY AFTER THE ATTENDING PHYSICIAN HAS COMPLETED A WRITTEN STATEMENT REGARDING THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE SAMPLE. ALL OTHER SAMPLES WILL NEED TO BE RE-COLLECTED NO LABELS = NO TESTS Click here to continue

Here are some examples.... Acceptable? GN 19/9/12 1015 Grey Nurse ANN CITIZEN B123456 15/6/75 GN 19/9/12 1015 CITIZEN ANN B123456 15 6 75 G.NURSE Grey Nurse 19 9 12 1015 TUBE REQUEST FORM Acceptable?

Here are some examples.... Acceptable? GN 19/9/12 1015 Grey Nurse ANN CITIZEN 15/6/75 GN 19/9/12 1015 CITIZEN ANN 15 6 75 G.NURSE Grey Nurse 19 9 12 1015 TUBE REQUEST FORM 10 High St, Highton 10 HIGH ST HIGHTON Acceptable?

Here are some examples.... Acceptable? GN 19/9/12 1015 Grey Nurse ANN CITIZEN 15/6/75 GN 19/9/12 1015 CITIZEN ANN 15 6 75 G.NURSE Grey Nurse 19 9 12 1015 TUBE REQUEST FORM Medicare 3454346782 3454 34678 2 Acceptable?

Here are some examples.... Acceptable? GN 19/9/12 1015 Grey Nurse ANN CITIZEN 15/6/75 GN 19/9/12 1015 CITIZEN ANN 15 6 75 G.NURSE Grey Nurse 19 9 12 1015 TUBE REQUEST FORM No third identifier RECOLLECT Acceptable?

Illegible writing on tube Here are some examples.... CITIZEN ANN 15 6 75 G.NURSE Grey Nurse 19 9 12 1015 TUBE REQUEST FORM GN 19/9/08 1015 B123456 B123456 Illegible writing on tube RECOLLECT Acceptable?

Name on tube and form do not match Here are some examples.... ANN CIZITEN 15/6/75 GN 19/9/12 1015 CITIZEN ANN 15 6 75 G.NURSE Grey Nurse 19 9 12 1015 TUBE REQUEST FORM MC 3454346782 3454 34678 2 Name on tube and form do not match RECOLLECT Acceptable?

Click here to return to the beginning or press ESC to finish In summary... NO LABELS = NO TESTS Specimen labelling standards have been strengthened to promote patient safety and ensure that the right patient is getting the right result. If you follow these requirements, the samples you have collected will be processed. However, if these requirements are not met, the staff in Pathology have no alternative but to ask for a re-collection of the sample. Please remember that when Pathology staff ask for a re-collection, they are only doing their job. They want to make sure that the results they put out are being used to treat the right patient. Get it right the first time, and we will all be happy! Click here to return to the beginning or press ESC to finish