Yesterday I talked with a transfusion service supervisor from a small hospital. She told me that they were being required to send two phlebotomists (from the lab - no techs or nurses) for patient identification before every lab sample draw (not just blood bank).

Has anyone else ever heard of this practice?

It sounds like just their way of trying to address the patient ID issue. Congratulate them for recognizing that it is not just a blood bank/transfusion serivce issue but one that encompasses the entire lab. Maybe it will work well for them. We couldn't afford to double our phlebotomy staff so there is not much chance of us trying it.

In Indianapolis, several institutions have each BB patient double-ID'd and each BB specimen double-signed by the collector, plus one other nurse/phleb/etc.

In the true nursing tradition, the collecting nurse gives the sample to another, who signs the first's name and approaches a third person to ask her to sign the tube, ..., and it arrives at the blood bank looking perfect !!

NOTHING works better than consistently checking wristbands each and every event, even if it was just done 60 seconds ago. There is no adequate substitute short of inplantable RFID chips in the forehead or in the right hand (Rev 13:16) and appropriate automation.

We have a policy that all blood bank Type&Screen specimens need to be drawn and witnessed by another person. One of those people need to be a lab phlebotomist. The exception would be specimens drawn in the OR. There one nurse or physician can draw and another witness the draw. Both parties in either case need to inital or sign the specimen. If the specimen does not have both ID's on the label, it is considered mislabeled and not used.

My facility is a large medical center with a level I trauma center and a pediatric hospital.

The methods of verifying patient ID can be discussed and disputed at length. My question is...Why can't it be done correctly the first time, everytime, by a single individual??? Answer that, and come up with a solution, and you could retire a wealthy person. With that having been said...we are looking into creating a home-grown barcode method for the purpose of patient ID at the bedside. This will start off with a specimen labeling application but could take off to include many other applications including, of course, transfusion. Has anyone attempted this before? We have a six-hospital system - it will only be used within our corporation - Does anyone know what requirements (FDA, CMS, JCAHO, etc.) would be applicable?

Thank You!!

No! No!

Gloria,

No!? No!? It's looks as if you have some first hand experience with this (home grown bar coding system)? Do you still have nightmares about it? Tell me all about it.

Deb

We have about 433 beds and the majority of our samples are drawn by Patient Care Techs or the Nurses. The protocol is to check the armband, properly identify the patient etc. then draw the sample, sign and date the patient specimen label,label the tube at bedside, apply the blood bank armband with the unique blood bank id number (similiar system to Hollister) etc. There isn't enough staff to have two individuals check the identity when the sample is being drawn. To date the system has worked for us and we will continue in this manner. I am interested to discover what other people are doing in case this becomes an issue.