Effective September 13, 2022, in line with current trends, the lab will be adopting the new estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) equations developed by Inker et al.
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Compliance & Safety
From collection to transport, Spectrum Health Laboratories must have quality specimens to produce accurate results you can trust. A quality specimen is one that has been collected and transported, keeping specimen integrity and patient identification intact. It is important to remind patients to carefully follow all collection and transportation instructions to ensure the sample usable and not tainted.
Please help remind patients:
♦ Submit all specimens as soon as collection is completed. Many tests are time sensitive.
♦ After collection, make sure lid is secured and fastened evenly, as leaky specimens will be rejected.
♦ Keep the container upright at all times.
♦ If a second container is needed, the patient should obtain a second container from the laboratory or draw site. Do not use home containers (i.e. butter container) or bags, as these may contaminate the specimen.
♦ Specimen is labeled clearly with
◊ Patient’s full legal name
◊ Date of birth
◊ Date and time of collection
Warning: Some kits contain preservatives. Please let patients know to not drink, ingest or inhale fumes. If disposal is needed please contact the laboratory. In case of skin or eye contact, irritation, or swallowing call poison control as soon as possible: 800.222.1222.
For more information, please review “Laboratory Specimen Home Collection Document” or the Lab Catalog for more information.
Compliance & Safety, Education & Training, Microbiology
Update: Swabs for Cultures without a Source and Order
Effective May 9th, 2022, Spectrum Health Laboratory’s Microbiology Department will no longer be preemptively setting up cultures on swabs without a source and order, when received on Thursdays through Sundays and Holidays. Note: The specimen will still be held, but cultures will not be set up in anticipation of the order.
Compliance & Safety, Education & Training, General Information, Test Utilization
Specimen Collection and Test Updates – April 2022
The following information was updated in the Lab Catalog.
Compliance & Safety, Education & Training, General Information
Appropriate Labeling for Shared Specimen – COVID-19 & FLU AB PCR
To provide efficient and safe testing for patient specimens, please review the following information when sending COVID-19 PCR and Influenza A/B PCR testing in the same encounter to Spectrum Health Laboratories.
Two labels will be available for this testing. Labels must be fixed so that
• The test and patient information are shown
• The barcode may be easily scanned by Lab staff or instruments
When this is not done correctly, Laboratory staff removes the labels and re-fixes or re-prints it, which obstructs workflow, causes delays, and could result in patient information being peeled off. With patient safety and efficient testing being two of the Lab’s top priorities, it is vital that specimens arrive in such a way as to best accomplish both.
Effective Wednesday, August 18, 2021, to align with Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines, the Salicylate lower limit of reporting will increase from 0.3 mg/dL to 2.0 mg/dL.
Note: The therapeutic range for Salicylate is 2.0 – 10.0 mg/dL and this test is best utilized for assessment of Salicylate toxicity.
TEST INFORMATION
Salicylate Level – Test Codes: Epic #LAB34, Interface #10245, CPT #80329
Compliance & Safety, General Information
Pathology Narratives Release Hold Removed for Weekends and Holidays
Effective July 1, 2021, Pathology and Radiology Result Narratives will no longer be held on weekends and holidays. All finalized result narratives will be released at 6 a.m. and 12 p.m. daily. This adjustment aligns with the 21st Century Cures Act and corresponding CMS mandate to allow data to flow freely and securely between providers, payers, and patients.
Of note, patients may be able to see results in MyChart prior to a provider seeing the results. Ordering providers should consider discussing potential outcomes with patients to prepare patients for results. Results should only be held if releasing the result puts the patient at risk of physical harm, or the patient requests the information not be shared.
More information related to the 21st Century Cures Act and established interoperability requirements can be found on the Information Governance Insite page (Internal). Contact Information Governance at InformationGovernance@spectrumhealth.org with any questions or use the Contact Us link above.
Blood Bank, Compliance & Safety, General Information, Hemostasis/Coagulation, Referral/Sendouts, Test Utilization
Coagulation Blue Top Tube Shortage
Update 9/1/2021:
September 1, 2021
There continues to be a global shortage of sodium citrate (“blue top”) blood collection tubes used for coagulation testing as a result of unprecedented demand, in part due to COVID-19 surges, vaccine and treatment development. This was anticipated to last through August 2021, but now, due to continued unprecedented demands, there is no end date in sight. Please take this into consideration when ordering coagulation testing (i.e. Protime, aPTT, Fibrinogen, D-dimer, Lupus Screens, Factor Assays, Mixing Studies, von Willebrand testing, etc.).