[Histonet] Re: specimen tracking from the OR

[Matthew Lunetta]

We too are a small hospital. And like Terri there is a book in the OP area that the specimens are logged into when dropped off and picked up. It is a standard Chain-of-Custody (COC) protocol. We have recently added a new process as we too had a sample missplaced when the Histology Lab was closed. Now after hours tissue is brought to the General lab and a COC log is filled out with the RN dripping off the specimen and the Lab Assistant accepting the specimen.  To copy Terri, Crude and time consuming, yes....accurate, too.

Regards,
Matt Lunetta HT, (ASCP)
Longmont United Hospital


Message: 2
Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 13:28:22 -0500
From: "Terri  Braud" <tbraud <@t> holyredeemer.com>
Subject: [Histonet] RE: specimen tracking from the OR
To: <histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu>
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We are a small hospital lab, too.  There is a log book in the OR, where specimens are placed for Histo pick up.  The circulating nurse puts a Patient sticker and handwrites all specimens removed from the patient, regardless of what they are, and whether or not they have been walked down, tubed, or waiting pickup.  We make sure that all specimens we remove are listed in the book, then sign/date/time for them.  Any specimen left for us and not in the book, or vice versa, we bring to the attention of the OR control desk.  If we make a run and there are no specimens to pick up, then we still sign and date/time the log book as "no specimens".   Any specimens brought to the department are checked before accepting.  Crude and time consuming, yes....accurate, too.

Terri L. Braud, HT(ASCP)
Anatomic Pathology Supervisor
Laboratory
Holy Redeemer Hospital and Medical Center
1648 Huntingdon Pike
Meadowbrook, PA 19046
(215) 938-3676 phone
(215) 938-3689 fax

  6. log book (Kathy Gorham)
 
Message: 6
Date: Sun, 01 Mar 2009 17:15:47 -0800
From: "Kathy Gorham" <gorhamk <@t> verizon.net>
Subject: [Histonet] log book
Good Monday Morning,  We had a serious incident Friday with O.R.  My aide went down to get the specimens from O.R. about 9am. (which were left overs from the night before).  She did not stamp in the specimens before she left.  When I had time to stamp them in and record them in the log book I discovered that the colon was not there.  Two other specimens from that patient where in the bag but no colon.  So I went down to O.R. to see where it was.  Of course no one knows what happened to the colon.  The doctors are furious by all means.  Now the O.R. thinks the path lab screwed up.  So my questions is how do others log in the specimens as they come into the lab.  We have 2 couriers that brings specimens when we are not in the lab from other hospitals.  How do you make sure that whom ever brings the specimens actually brings the ones they say they do?  Do you have a log book that every specimen that is brought into the lab is written down by the person who brings it in?  Right n
ow we have a log book but it is written in as we are accessing  the specimens.  So the specimens may have been there overnight. We are a very small lab and we do almost everything by hand including writing in the log book.  Someday we want to be able to scan by bar codes but right now we can not do that. Thanks for any help you can give me. 
Kathy Gorham, H.T.