Reducing Canceled Labs Related to Specimen Integrity in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Quality Improvement Initiative

Overview

Reducing multiple redraws in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is a constant goal for laboratory and nursing staff caring for neonatal patients. Frequent cancellation of labs following specimen collection due to issues with specimen integrity results in increased blood waste, painful procedures, and ultimately, a delayed treatment. 

This presentation will walk learners through the quality improvement methodology and describe PDSA cycle interventions that were implemented in this unit, which successfully reduced the amount of canceled labs due to specimen integrity.  

Learning objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Identify common reasons for canceled labs due to specimen integrity in the NICU setting.
• Describe interventions that can help to decrease canceled labs due to specimen integrity.
• Summarize the importance of inversion technique in preventing canceled labs due to specimen integrity.

Intended audience

This series is appropriate for phlebotomists, phlebotomy managers, phlebotomy educators, and other patient care staff involved in specimen collection.

Questions?

Contact us: mcleducation@mayo.edu