Date of Graduation
Summer 8-9-2019
Document Access
Project/Capstone - Global access
Degree Name
Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)
College/School
School of Nursing and Health Professions
First Advisor
MaryLou DeNatale
Abstract
Abstract
It has been estimated that >160,000 adverse patient events occur each year in the United States because of patient or specimen identification errors involving the laboratory (Sandhu, et. al 2017). The overall effect of specimen labeling errors often leads to patient safety issues related to medication errors, misdiagnosis, and delays in care (Sandhu, et. al 2017). The Women’s Clinic (WC) an outpatient clinic located within a larger northern California acute care facility had noted a significant increase in the number of lab years in the last year. This clinic sees on average four hundred patients and collects hundreds of specimens daily. In the time from October 2018 to April 2019, the lab error rate on average has been around 8 errors per month. The purpose of this project is to implement education for the medical assistant staff to learn how to focus on the goal of the following: properly label lab specimens, use the right culture medium for specific labs, to properly close the lab specimen containers, and place the specimen in the proper bin (pathology vs laboratory) for both pick up and processing. With the plan to reinforce the education on correct laboratory specimen collection, labeling and processing with resulting in, a 50% decline of the lab error rate and substantial cost-savings.
Recommended Citation
Scruton, Sabrina, "Prospectus for Decreasing Lab Specimen Errors" (2019). Master's Projects and Capstones. 927.
https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone/927
