Any laboratory testing order can be faxed to (616) 774-7696 and that order will be accessible from any Spectrum Laboratory Draw Site in the Grand Rapids, Big Rapids, Gerber (Fremont) and Zeeland area.
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General Information
Per the memo sent out July 2012, the Grand Rapids area laboratories will draw patients afterhours on a limited basis at the Butterworth Hospital location only. We will serve patients with emergent laboratory needs with a direct physician request. The laboratory will be unable to accommodate routine walk-in patients outside of normal business hours.
The physician will need to call the Laboratory Call Center at 616-774-7721 to initiate the blood draw for their critical needs patient. Please be prepared to provide our Call Center with relevant information regarding the patient’s situation. You will also be asked to fax a written order to 616-391-3129 or place your order in Epic, and should direct your patient to the Butterworth Admitting for the blood draw. Be advised that this process may take up to 30 minutes to complete the draw using our inpatient phlebotomy staff.
We request that all routine blood draws return to one of our convenient Outpatient laboratory locations during normal business hours. Most laboratory locations are open Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. with some sites open on Saturday mornings (7 a.m. to 11 a.m.). We recommend that if there is a question regarding hours of operation to contact the draw site or visit Laboratory Locations.
Please note: If a patient should need their labs drawn on a Saturday morning, please use any of our other draw stations that are open on Saturday mornings. This includes patients who require a STAT bili order. If a patient comes into the draw station at Butterworth on a Saturday morning to collect a test, they will be asked to go to another open location. The STAT afterhours process at Butterworth is only for hours when draw stations are not open at other locations. (Usually after hours is after 5 pm Monday thru Thursday, after 3 pm Friday, after 11 am Saturday, and on Sundays)
Effective October 15th, 2017, all specimens collected for Blood Bank must have two signatures on the specimen written in ink that is resistant to smearing after a patient has been identified according to the Patient Identification Policy.
One of the two collectors/witnesses must be a lab staff member, unless specimen is collected in Spectrum Health Surgery, Infusion Center, Special Care Hospital, Cardiac Cath Lab Procedure Room, or a cord blood in Labor and Delivery. For Outpatients, the patient may serve as the witness and initial the tube label.
On June 27th, the name of the current order “Respiratory (non-sputum) Culture without Gram stain” will change to “Throat Culture Comprehensive.” All other specimen collection details and culture workup will remain the same. Given the fact that there are currently several similarly named tests, this change is being made to reduce confusion regarding test selection and to clarify acceptable specimen types.
Immunochemistry, Test Utilization
Utility of specific IgE (sIgE) testing to foods and food allergen components
The diagnostic evaluation of allergic disease occurs in the context of a patient’s complete clinical presentation. Important factors include, age, clinical signs and symptoms, relevant allergen exposures, and the performance characteristics (sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values) of the allergy tests themselves. Allergy tests yield information about sensitization to allergens, which is not always equivalent to allergic hypersensitivity (i.e., sensitivity); thus, interpretation in the context of clinical history is essential for accurate diagnosis.
Compliance & Safety, Education & Training, General Information
Maintaining Specimen Integrity – Purple Priority Bags
Spectrum Health Regional Laboratory supplies purple priority bags for specimens that must be handled and processed immediately upon receipt in the laboratory. The purple color priority transport bag will be a visual cue to the receiving laboratory that the specimens inside the bag need to be handled or processed immediately at the time of arrival in the laboratory or the integrity of the specimen will be compromised.
Use these bags for transporting specimens to the laboratory when:
Safety of our patient and quality of care are of utmost importance. For this reason we require specimens sent to the Spectrum Health Cytology Laboratory be labeled with at least two patient identifiers, (i.e., patient legal name, birth date and MRN.) We will no longer return to the collection site, unlabeled, mislabeled specimens lacking two patient identifiers or specimen containers with multiple different patient labels. These specimens will be discarded and repeat collection will be necessary.
Procedures to verify correct labeling of patient specimens at the time of collection are recommended. Specimen containers should not be pre-labeled. Variation of the “time-out” procedure used in the hospital and surgical center setting is an excellent way of confirming that the specimen is correctly labeled. This can easily be achieved by having the patient verify his or her name and birth date, by reading the label placed on the specimen container at the time the specimen is collected. This “time out” should occur before the specimen leaves the examination or treatment room.
It is our mission to provide the best and safest care we can to our patients. We know that physicians and other practitioners are required to see patients more efficiently and at times with less than adequate time allowed. Following a “time out” procedure and not pre-labeling specimen containers will prevent errors that may lead to diagnoses being assigned to wrong patients, hence, unnecessary procedures and lack of follow-up for the appropriate patient.
Leaky specimen containers may cause compromised test results and it is also a hazard to lab couriers and registration personnel. Please be sure to inform patients that leaky specimen containers are not acceptable and may be rejected.
In order to prevent leaky containers, please be sure to discuss the following tips:
In the College of American Pathologists publication CAP Today the question was asked, “Are there regulations guiding the practice of taking additional blood samples from a patient (in case additional testing is needed later) even though there are no orders for the blood samples?” The limited literature on this topic has shown that inpatients (in those studies) have had up to 700 mL of blood collected during hospital stays. Thus we have to step back and ask: Does that make sense?
Read the response offered by David N. Alter, MD, DABCC, Clinical/Chemical Pathologist, Spectrum Health Regional Laboratory.
http://www.captodayonline.com/qa-column-1016/