In the time it takes you to read this sentence, dozens of specimens have moved through the UK hospital system.
Blood samples, tissue biopsies, swabs from clinic rooms – a continuous chain of medical samples flowing through the healthcare system.
Each of these specimens carry crucial information that could potentially save a life.
But here’s the challenge every healthcare facility faces: preventing specimen contamination and degradation with increasing specimen loads.
Since medical specimens are delicate, minor environmental changes such as temperature changes, processing delays, even light exposure can compromise their integrity and will only show up after test results are received.
With the growing volume of samples, it’s clear the current protocol for precautions to take when handling a specimen are simply ineffective.
Even with advancements for the healthcare sector on almost every front, it’s unclear why specimen identification and tracking is one task that still relies on manual processes and hasn’t changed significantly in decades.
Understandably, because of how invisible it is to patients, specimen handling isn’t the top of anyone’s priority list – especially when there are more visible issues such as manpower and medical shortages.
Let’s consider what these specimen handling errors mean in real terms for your facility:
- Patients that receive delayed or incorrect diagnoses thanks to ruined and contaminated samples can lead to either missed conditions or unnecessary treatments.
- Critical medication errors arise as a result from mislabelled blood work, putting patients at risk of receiving inappropriate treatments.
- Wasting resources on repeated testing and unnecessary procedures instead of being channelled to growth and patient care.
- Staff waste hours tracking down and correcting documentation errors on forms for sample collection that should never have occurred in the first place.
Damaged trust between healthcare providers and patients who rely on accurate results.
To protect specimen integrity and ensure accurate results, we’ll share some essential precautions to take when handling a specimen:
Specimen collection protocols
One precaution to take when handling a specimen is every specimen collection must begin with strict patient identification, with at least two unique identifiers to prevent any mix-ups.
The correct container for each specific specimen type must be used, because using the wrong one risks compromising sample integrity from the very beginning.
Specimens must be labelled immediately upon collection at the patient’s side; pre-labelling or batch labelling might save time but dramatically increases your risk of errors.
Each label must have complete documentation including the collection time, date, and collector’s identification.
These details are crucial if any questions arise about the specimen’s journey from patient to lab.
Finally, any special handling requirements must be clearly documented at the time of collection, ensuring every professional that handles the specimen knows exactly how to maintain its integrity.
Storage and transport requirements
Another precaution to take when handling a specimen is temperature control.
Even minor fluctuations can potentially compromise the sample integrity.
This requires using special transport containers designed for specific specimen types; a blood sample container may not be suitable to transport tissue other types of samples.
Storage conditions must also be continuously monitored using calibrated equipment, ensuring any deviations or changes are detected and addressed immediately.
All these are done to minimise risks of degradation of the samples that can affect test results.
Healthcare facilities can also establish dedicated transport routes, eliminating unnecessary delays and reducing the chance of specimens being misplaced or exposed to poor conditions during transit.
This is where adopting a digital system becomes essential.
Modern specimen management systems like Sample360 have been specifically designed taking into consideration precautions to take when handling a specimen.
Using automating critical tracking and monitoring processes, these systems create an unbreakable chain of accountability from the moment a specimen is collected until the final results are delivered.
Ready to transform your specimen management process?
Let MSoft eSolutions show you how our comprehensive digital solution can protect your specimens, patients, and reputation of your facility here.
