Laboratory sampling: does the process affect the outcome?

With the rapidly changing healthcare environment, one of the many increasing tasks for the intravenous team is blood sampling. Laboratory test results are based on the quality of the patient's blood specimen. The preanalytic phase of laboratory testing accounts for 46% of laboratory testing errors,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Intravenous Nursing Vol. 22; no. 3; pp. 137 - 143
Main Author: Becan-McBride K
Format: Journal Article
Published: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 1999 May-Jun
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Description
Summary:With the rapidly changing healthcare environment, one of the many increasing tasks for the intravenous team is blood sampling. Laboratory test results are based on the quality of the patient's blood specimen. The preanalytic phase of laboratory testing accounts for 46% of laboratory testing errors, so it needs to be managed effectively to eliminate costly, inefficient, and sometimes life-threatening outcomes to patients. The use of quality blood collection procedures and an awareness of preanalytic errors are presented to lead to quality patient outcomes.