College of American Pathologists (CAP) accreditation is one of the most important recognitions for any medical laboratory. Passing a CAP inspection is no easy feat: it requires considerable documentation, discipline, and process proficiency. In other words, it’s definitely a lot easier to fail your next cap inspection than it is to pass it. Here are …
The lingo used by medical labs is chock-full of beautiful, descriptive terms and phrases unique to medical science. Polyclonal antibody? That’s just poetry. It also shares lots of words used in everyday life and gives them entirely different meanings. That’s where things can get a little mixed up. Let’s clear up any confusion. Here are …
It is not OK to treat specimen transport totes the way kids treat their school backpacks – even if they’re empty. Totes need love, too. Treat them well and they will do their job for years. Store them haphazardly and you’ll be replacing them way sooner than you ought to be. When every budget dollar …
4 Ways to Get the Most from Your Specimen Transport Totes Read More »
By Brad Jung Guest Contributor The repercussions of specimen spoilage and loss are wide ranging, and none of them are minor. The best case scenario is embarrassment. A mea culpa is offered to the patient and a new sample is collected. It’s awkward, inexcusable, and can be nerve wracking for the patient. In addition, it …
Ensuring the integrity of your specimens includes maintaining proper temperatures. Of course, your laboratories validate, but do your couriers? Don’t take chances, guess, or hope that the proper temperature was maintained during transport. Validate with temperature tracking devices. MarketLab has expanded its selection of specimen temperature tracking devices for 2014 to help specimen couriers in …
Are You Validating Specimen Temperatures During Transport? Read More »
At Florida Hospital, Celebration Health, 5S Lean isn’t necessarily defined as a massive undertaking. Instead, staff of the Orlando-area hospital recognize big problems and find small ways to fix them. Here’s one of their stories. Margaret Bartlett is a laboratory operations director at Celebration Health. Her department received concerns from the labor and delivery unit …
Small Change, Big Results: One Clinical Lab’s Success Story Read More »
Safety Considerations for Blood Specimen Transport Outside Your Facility Rules of Transport for All Specimens The primary receptacle must be leak-proof and not contain more than 500 mL or grams. There must be absorbent material placed between the primary receptacle and the secondary packaging sufficient to absorb the entire contents of all primary containers …
Safety Considerations for Blood Specimen Transport Outside Your Facility Read More »
Safety Considerations for Blood Specimen Transport within Your Facility Vertical or Horizontal Plastic blood collection tubes and plastic micro collection containers should be maintained in a vertical position to promote complete clot formation, if required, and reduce the possibility of hemolysis. Plastic capillary tubes should be used for blood collection and may be carried horizontally …
Safety Considerations for Blood Specimen Transport within Your Facility Read More »
