Point-of-care testing

Specimen mislabeling: A significant and costly cause of potentially serious
medical errors
Apr 2005
Stephen E. Kahn

Preanalytical errors are a significant source of medical errors that can
jeopardize patient safety. Proper specimen labeling practices are critical
components of effective and accurate patient identification. These variables are
now considered part of the preexamination process in the newest CLSI quality
system management guideline, GP26-A3, as well as the newest relevant ISO
guideline, ISO-IEC Standard 15189: Medical laboratories - Particular
requirements for quality and competence. Major types of specimen labeling errors
are associated with a small number of common causes. Specimen labeling errors
have significant consequences for patient care, for healthcare management and
for increasing costs that are often unaccounted for. Specimen labeling errors
may be prevented by adhering to appropriate policies as well as unique
educational programs, marketing strategies and other techniques. Recently, a
multidisciplinary work group at a U.S. clinical institution suggested that the
average additional incurred total charges per specimen mislabeling occurrence
was USD 712.

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