FACMPE: Right Diagnosis, Wrong Patient: Lab Specimen Integrity and Why It Matters

Across the country, patients are subjected to treatment, surgery and unnecessary visits to specialists due to lab labeling errors. The impact of these mistakes speaks to more than the misdiagnosis; it speaks to a larger problem that starts the moment the patient arrives for the visit. Properly identifying the patient and protecting the integrity of specimens means that protocols, safety processes and workflows must not only be in place, they must be standardized and followed with every patient, every visit, every time. This paper focuses on the lab labeling process and the impact errors have on patients and organizations alike.