Automated Specimen Receipt Recording to Reduce Turnaround Time of Complete Blood Count Samples
Gerald M. Davis, Usha Kota, Rajan Dewar · American Journal of Clinical Pathology · 2016
Objective: Manually tracking specimens from the phlebotomy station (preanalytic), through specimen receipt and processing, until analysis can be challenging and can directly impact test turnaround time. We devised an automated specimen collection status/receipt system and implemented it in our hospital hematology laboratory to track complete blood count (CBC) specimens. Methods: A laboratory information system (LIS) software application designed for automatic updating of the specimen collection status in an LIS without manual specimen handling was deployed in a high-volume, fast turnaround environment at a large teaching healthcare facility. The purpose of the software application is to automate the process of updating the specimen status as “Received in Lab” in the LIS and hospital information system (HIS). The software design emulates the same manual barcode scanning of specimens by laboratory staff where distractions and inattentiveness to pop-up messages on the workstation screen created processing errors and led to placing unregistered specimens on a robotic line that could not recognize the specimen. Specimens placed on the robotic device are automatically barcode scanned at the analyzer and prior to analysis; the collection status of the specimen is updated to “Received in Lab” in the LIS and the HIS. Results: The advantages of this design decreased the overall turnaround time (TAT) of the CBC and CBC with differential, and absolute counts by 48.3% and 40.1%, reduced the TAT variance by 50.0% and 73.6%, and reduced the number of TAT outliers in a subpopulation of hematology-oncology patients by 68.3%. Conclusions: Specimen receipt recording decreases TAT, and eliminates waste and error, enabling staff to do less manually repetitive tasks, and allowing them more time to focus on and perform more complex specimen testing.