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By Cindy Johnson
Director of Laboratory Operations, CentraCare Laboratory
03/17/08
In the previous article, "Patient Safety is Non-Negotiable," we discussed the strides that CentraCare Laboratory Services (CCLS) has undertaken over the past 18 months to ensure that we have implemented protocols to reduce patient and specimen identification errors.
In November 2007, we took our patient safety initiative one step further by purchasing 15 handheld devices that are designed for patient identification safety in the hospital environment. In collaboration with our Information Technology (IT) department and Laboratory Information System (LIS) vendor, the laboratory team designed a plan to implement this new technology with patient safety as the key focus.
This system allows for positive patient identification through the process of scanning barcoded patient identification wristbands for patient demographics. Patient orders from the LIS are transmitted in real time to a wireless personal digital assistant (PDA). Laboratory test orders are reviewed, combined, and organized by the phlebotomists through the handheld program.
After selecting a patient for collection, the scanning process links the patient to their orders, eliminating incorrect patient draws. Specimen labels are generated at the patient beside through a portable printer carried by the phlebotomists. This ensures that the right specimen is drawn from the right patient and the right specimen label is applied to the blood specimen tube.
Another advantage of this process change is the independence and responsibility that has been given to the phlebotomy team. In the past, the team members were sent to a patient's room through a central dispatch area located in the main laboratory. In the new
process, the phlebotomy team members now see all the laboratory pending orders displayed in their wireless handheld devices and make a selection based on their current location in the hospital. While we haven't eliminated the need for the dispatch area, this has significantly reduced the number of phone calls to the phlebotomists.
This new technology has enhanced our ability to provide high quality of care to our patients. Since adopting this new technology we have eliminated patient identification and specimen labeling errors in the inpatient environment. Our next focus is to investigate how this technology can be used in the outpatient areas.
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