milesd3

We have a form the Dr. must sign.  It includes the unit number/numbers, the Dr.s signature time and date, the tech involved signature time and date.  if the unit is O negative or type specific.  (We try to give type specific if possible and limit uncrossmatched blood to 2 units.. try)  We are a small rural hospital.  The ER calls the request to us.  on a rare occasion surgery will request emergency release blood.  same thing they call us.

We have a form the Dr. must sign.  It includes the unit number/numbers, the Dr.s signature time and date, the tech involved signature time and date.  if the unit is O negative or type specific.  (We try to give type specific if possible and limit uncrossmatched blood to 2 units.. try)  We are a small rural hospital.  The ER calls the request to us.  on a rare occasion surgery will request emergency release blood.  same thing they call us.

Hello all. Am I the only one that doesn't get hemocytometer controls. We run a liquid control when we do them, but it really seems that manual counts should be an issue of competency with a validated hemocytometer, not a qc issue. Even if you get a manufactured disposable hemocytometer with multiple counting areas you're only running qc on two areas that you don't even use for counting the patients. So it seems that QC is assessing the tech performance rather than the hemocytometer. Particularly if using an old glass one with the same coverslip over and over.

Are you saying that a specific parameter is consistently the same exact value each and every time QC is performed and for all three levels?  That would be amazing.  There are a couple non reportable items on our analyzer that stay pretty consistent but they are items that have to do with the operation of the instrument such as diff X and Diff Y.  none of our reportable parameters are steadily the same number each time...

We don't send units with the patient unless they are already hanging.  We found out years ago that units sent were discarded by the destination hospital and the explanation is simply that the other hospital didn't do the work and didn't want to responsible for someone else's work.  I understand the reasoning thus we don't send units...

We don't send units with the patient unless they are already hanging.  We found out years ago that units sent were discarded by the destination hospital and the explanation is simply that the other hospital didn't do the work and didn't want to responsible for someone else's work.  I understand the reasoning thus we don't send units...

I have worked with the CA1500 for 12 years now.  It will handle your work load just fine but it is an archaic instrument and the software is horrible.  Just a couple of examples: You have to manually register all your reagents (it comes with a barcode reader but it doesn't work for the reagents).  Also you can only have one lot calibrated at a time so you cannot get the new lot ready when it is convenient (D. Dimer and Xa).   I have always wanted an IL Top, I think they are the best in Coag right now but if you are limited to Siemens I would go with the new CA2500.

What pinktoptube said... MT's get one more semester of BB training in school but how many folks actually retain that extra bit of knowledge.  From my experience I find MT's and MLT's are both capable of doing the work and I cannot distinguish between the two looking at results.  The true training takes place on the job and the more hands on either gets the better a BB tech they become. 
Is this requirement for plts cryo etc just for the MLT or MT as well..?  If so I suppose the pathologist doesn't trust the MLT's judgment?  At our facility we rarely question the Dr's decisions to give plts because they are usually warrented.  we have in the past had OB Dr.s order plts to be onhand which usually means at the end of their life, we trhow them away.  Our in house Pathologist wouldn't stop this practice and it drove me insane.  He retired and our once a month pathologist isn't much better.

When we had the Advia it would produce a report I think once a week or every so many patient samples.. I think it was called Neut X and Neut Y.  I think coulter has something similar Xbar B or something like that.  Our sysmex has it too but its not configured.  It was handy on the Advia as it would give advanced warning of impending doom.  I look at the controls once a week at the L-J chart. Pretty easy to notice trends that way in my opinion although the sysmex has had very few problems with QC (knocking on wood)

We have a computer program called QSP by Horiba, for daily QA that the person on the films bench does daily. It's basically a drag and drop of cells into categories and it autogenerates a report of what was correct/incorrect and what the incorrect cells should have been classified as. It's great for picking up gaps in knowledge.
 
Linky -  http://www.horiba.com/uk/medical/news-events/news/article/horiba-introduces-new-quality-slide-programme-qsp-service-24511/