Decreasing Mislabeled Laboratory Specimens Using Barcode Technology and Bedside Printers

Abstract

Mislabeling of laboratory samples has been found to be a high-risk issue in acute care hospitals. The goal of this study was to decrease mislabeled blood specimens. In the first year after the implementation of a positive patient identification system using barcoding and computer technology, the number of labeling errors decreased from 103 to 8 per year. The outcome was clinically and statistically significant (P < .001).

Preventing blood transfusion failures: FMEA, an effective assessment method

“…These could occur due to the unclear or lack of standard procedures in patient identification and sample labelling. Consistently, a previous study [17] has reported that the incidence of labelling errors decreased significantly in the first year followed by replacing barcodes and modern computer technology for patient identification rather old equipments. Other causes of transfusion failures identified by this study included using out-dated techniques for blood sampling, incorrect labelling, loss of correct labels, or failure to check patient identification carefully prior to transfusion [12].…”

Effectiveness of practices to reduce blood culture contamination: A Laboratory Medicine Best Practices systematic review and meta-analysis

“…These benefits include decreased turnaround time for laboratory test results on specimens other than blood cultures [13]; reduced frequency of misidentified and mislabeled specimens [43,44]; decrease in patient needle-stick bruises; improved quality of specimens; improved working relationships between phlebotomists and nurses; and higher levels of patient satisfaction [42,45]. …”

Targeting Rejection: Analysis of Specimen Acceptability and Rejection, and Framework for Identifying Interventions in a Single Tertiary Healthcare Facility

“…Most studies that evaluated this issue in individual laboratories simply cataloged the reasons for rejection, including specimen hemolysis, clotting, mislabeled specimens, and insufficient quantity for test (2,6,(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18). Additionally, a separate body of literature has reported phlebotomy interventions to ameliorate specific acceptability issues, such as techniques to mitigate hemolysis (19)(20)(21) and incorrect labeling (22,23). But there is no widely available framework for helping any given laboratory identify why its own specimens are rejected and target which interventions would be most appropriate.…”