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Article
July 2008
How to Avoid Preanalytical Testing Errors: A Virtual Roundtable Discussion
It is estimated that a majority of all laboratory medicine errors are errors that occur during the preanalytical phase of the laboratory testing cycle. Such errors have a significant impact on patient safety, staff workload, and hospital costs.
Correctly identifying patients and avoiding specimen-labeling errors are...
Point-of-care testing
Preanalytical phase
Quality assurance
Glucose
Article
July 2008
Point of care connectivity
With the use of a new Data Management System (DMS) software program [1], the majority of Point Of Care Testing (POCT) equipment throughout the Waikato District Health Board region has been connected to the Laboratory Information System (LIS) and the Hospital Information System (HIS).
Prior to the new DMS, viewing...
Point-of-care testing
Blood gases/acid-base
Information management
Process optimization
Glucose
Troponins
Article
June 2008
Point-of-care testing, now and in the near future
Introduction of point–of-care testing (POCT) in hospitals requires the use of principles of change management. Manufacturers can support this process.
E-learning programs adapted to the local situation with regular updates, a centralized accreditation and user-registration system and service level agreements are...
Point-of-care testing
Information management
Process optimization
Glucose
Article
April 2008
The Role of Physician Feedback in Improving Lab Utilization
Maintaining lasting progress in laboratory test utilization is difficult to do without a reminder tool for providers. Since implementation of a quarterly physician report card in 2003, we have seen sustained improvement in the ordering of wellness tests in an ambulatory care network in the United States for over four...
Information management
Glucose
Article
January 2008
Point-of-care testing; systems re-engineering of healthcare provision to reduce errors, and improve outcomes
Modern analytical devices for testing biological fluids, such as blood, have now developed a sophistication that ensures the quality of the analytical result is capable of matching that achieved in the central laboratory.
Complementary developments are focused on reducing operator-related and connectivity-related...
Point-of-care testing
Information management
Process optimization
Article
January 2008
Measurement of circulating glucose: The problem of inconsistent sample and methodology
There are few medical diagnoses that depend solely on the result of a single blood test, but diabetes mellitus, which is defined by concentration of circulating glucose, is one that does.
Quite apart from its long established role in diagnosis as well as life-long monitoring of diabetes, measurement of circulating...
Glucose
Hemoglobins
Preanalytical phase
Article
January 2008
Use of local anesthesia for arterial punctures
Reprinted from AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CRITICAL CARE, November 2006, Volume 15, No 6, 595-599 Hudson TL, Dukes SF, Reilly K. Use of local anesthesia for arterial puncture.
Copyright with permission from American Journal of Critical Care
BACKGROUND
Except for intravenous therapy, arterial access is the most common...
Blood gases/acid-base
Preanalytical phase
Article
November 2007
Automating shunt calculation improves analytical quality
Tartu University Hospital has improved the quality of blood gas testing in its clinical laboratory and critical care units by introducing an automatic system for blood gas analysis.
Not only did the quality of processes in the preanalytical phase improve, but also the automatic calculation of pO2(A-a), for APACHE...
Information management
Blood gases/acid-base
Process optimization
Quality assurance
Creatinine/urea
Article
October 2007
Lactate and lactic acidosis
The integrity and function of all cells depend on an adequate supply of oxygen. Severe acute illness is frequently associated with inadequate tissue perfusion and/or reduced amount of oxygen in blood (hypoxemia) leading to tissue hypoxia.
If not reversed, tissue hypoxia can rapidly progress to multiorgan failure and ...
Blood gases/acid-base
Glucose
Lactate
Kidneys/fluids
Article
September 2007
Automating blood gas improves preanalytical quality
Tartu University Hospital has improved the quality of blood gas testing in its clinical laboratory and critical care units by introducing an automatic system for blood gas analysis [1].
Process optimization
Blood gases/acid-base
Information management
Point-of-care testing
Preanalytical phase
Hemoglobins