Survey - Turnaround Times Type and Screen

[tar1heel]

Hi

I would like to find out what other hospitals have established as their STAT turnaround times for a type and screen and an immediate spin crossmatch. I would also like to find out what your routine turnaround times are for these tests. Please include whether you consider yourself a small, medium or large facility.

We are a large facility and I feel that the turnaround times we established over 10 years ago are no longer applicable because of the increase in our workload (at least a 50% increase from 10 years ago). The protocol of statusing all specimens from surgery as STAT has also impacted the number of STAT specimens we receive at the same time. In case you are wondering, our current STAT turnaround times are 45 minutes for a type and screen and 10 minutes for an I.S. crossmatch. It's the type and screen time that we seem to miss by just a couple of minutes.

Thanks for your input! Happy Spring!

[Deny Morlino]

We are a small facility. Our STAT TAT specifications are testing complete within 45 minutes of receipt of specimens; phlebotomy has 15 minutes from order time until the specimen should be collected. The above being true, necessitating the time for centrifugation be included in the TAT and using a 15 minute incubation for the AB screen, it was determined to be almost impossible to meet a 45 minute TAT for STAT type and screens. As a result, we are still allowed 60 minutes for the type and screen at our facility. Hope this helps.

[L106]

We are a medium facility (300 beds.) Our STAT TAT for Type & Screens is one hour from the time Blood Bank receives the patient's specimen. (We usually complete it within 45-50 minutes.) Our TAT goal for providing immediate spin crossmatch blood and/or uncrossmatched blood is 10 minutes.

We like to see our specimen collection TAT within 15 minutes, but that can be quite variable, due to specimens collected by a variety of sources. (Phlebotomists, Surgery personnel, nurses on the nursing units & Intensive Care & Emergency Care Center, as well as the seemingly chronic problem of a shortage of phlebotomy staff.)

[Eagle Eye]

we are a large facility and oue TAT for type and screen is 60 mins and IS crossmatch is 10 min.

[tbostock]

Medium facility, type and screen TAT is 60 mins, IS crossmatch is 10 min.

[kate murphy]

We're 550 beds and state 60 minutes for STAT type and screen, 5 minutes for IS XM.

We had similar issues with surgical STAT specs - until we tapped into the Pre-Admit Clinic. Now, most surgical specs are drawn up to 14 days pre-op and blood is ready for surgery. It took a while to educate the RNs in the Pre-Admit, but is now running smoothly.

Routine TAT is 4 hours. Do you have any automation to help you? Less stress on everybody when using automation.

[adiescast]

We are a large facility and use 60 minutes from receipt for STAT type and screen and 20 minutes for I.S. crossmatch. Truly, we mostly do electronic crossmatch and I don't even track the TAT for the I.S. any more. But 20 minutes is what we promise.

[bbbirder]

We are a smallish medium facility (150-200 beds, who knows really?) and we use 60 minutes for a STAT T/S and 10 minutes for IS XM.

[Brenda K Hutson]

I currently work in a medium sized Hospital (400 beds) but have worked in 6 Insititutions; the largest being 1,200 beds. As I recall, we all basically "defined" the STAT TAT as 1 hour (though in reality, we could finish it sooner). You should build in a little extra time in that you cannot always "immediately" centrifuge the specimen; "immediately" look up the patient history; "immediately" get the Antibody Screen going; "immediately" result your tests and finally, "immediately" label the product(s). Plus you have to factor in the additional time (albeit minimal) for each additional unit to XM and label.

Brenda Hutson, CLS(ASCP)SBB