Laboratory Analytical Error
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Laboratory Of Analytical Chemistry
Sigma"Westgard Rules"Patient Safety ConceptsHigh ReliabilityISOCLIA & QualityQuality RequirementsCLIA Final RuleDownloadsStoreResourcesAbout analytical errors in the lab UsFeedback Form HomeEssaysGuest EssayPre-, Post- & Analytical Errors Guest Essay Pre-, Post- & Analytical Errors Written analytical balance error by David Plaut, Sten Westgard, and James O. Westgard. Which improvements should be made first? Unfortunately, we seem to be arguing that some errors are http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/758467_4 more important (i.e. worse) than others. But rather than make a Chicken-or-Egg choice, David Plaut, Dr. Westgard, and Sten Westgard urge an analysis of these types of errors. The answer to the question of which improvements come first need not be "pre" or "post" or "analytical" - it should be https://www.westgard.com/guest20.htm "all three at once." Whose errors are more "obvious?" A Half-Baked Analogy Which errors are worse? Which improvements come first? A final thought Making sense of conflicting priorities in the laboratory We've often heard the opinion that the Quality Control of laboratory testing isn't the biggest problem we're facing. Sometime people quote a statistic that 40% of the errors in the laboratory are pre-analytical, 40% are post-analytical, and "only" 20% are analytical. There are more "P-errors" than "A-errors", therefore, many laboratories believe they should put a higher priority on pre- and post-analytical errors than on analytical errors. First of all, you may find it depressing when we admit we've got problems everywhere and we only argue over which problems are worse, which problems will be fixed next, and which problems will be ignored for the time being. Ignoring problems is not a good thing. We should be incensed that we
Pre-analytical errors: their impact and how to minimize them By: Nitin Kaushik By: Sol Green May 18, 2014 0 14682 The clinical laboratory plays an http://www.mlo-online.com/pre-analytical-errors-their-impact-and-how-to-minimize-them.php increasingly important role in the patient-centered approach to the delivery of healthcare services. Physicians rely on accurate laboratory test results for proper disease diagnosis and for guiding therapy; it is estimated that more than 70% of clinical decisions are based on information derived from laboratory test results.1 The process of blood testing, also known as the analytical error “Total Testing Process,” begins and ends with the patient. It includes the entire process from ordering the test to interpretation of the test results by the clinician. The Total Testing Process can be subdivided into three stages: Pre-analytical: test request, patient and specimen identification, specimen collection, transport, accessioning and processing Analytical: specimen testing Post-analytical: reporting test results, analytical errors in interpretation, follow up, storage, retesting if needed. Additionally, the term “pre-pre-analytical phase” has been used for the initial part of the pre-analytical phase, focused on test selection and identification of test needed, and the term “post-post-analytical phase” has been used for the interpretation of results by the clinician.2 The numbers don’t lie: it’s a significant problem Clinical laboratory errors directly lead to increased healthcare costs and decreased patient satisfaction. A laboratory error is defined as any defect that occurs during the entire testing process, from ordering tests to reporting results, that in any way influences the quality of laboratory services.3 Any error during the laboratory testing process can affect patient care, including delay in reporting, unnecessary redraws, misdiagnosis, and improper treatment. Sometimes, these errors may even be fatal (e.g., acute hemolytic reaction after incompatible blood transfusion caused by an error in patient identification).3 It has been observed that diagnostic errors have led to the most prevalent type of malpractice claim in the United States.4 Although err