[Patient identification errors and biological samples in the analytical process: Is it possible to improve patient...

Area of Science:

• Clinical Pathology
• Laboratory Medicine
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Patient identification errors are a major risk factor for adverse events.
• Inaccurate identification of patients and biological samples compromises diagnostic accuracy and patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and analyze the root causes of patient identification errors in analytical requests (PIEAR) from emergency departments.
• To develop and implement effective strategies for reducing PIEAR.

Main Methods:

• A standardized process and protocol for laboratory test requesting and performance was established.
• Evaluation and monitoring indicators for PIEAR were defined and tracked before and after implementing improvement measures (2010-2014).

Main Results:

• A total of 316 PIEAR were identified across 483,254 emergency service requests (mean of 6.80/10,000 requests).
• Patient identification failure was the most frequent error type consistently observed throughout the study periods (P<.0001).

Conclusions:

• Implemented improvement strategies proved effective in detecting and preventing patient identification errors.
• Continued efforts are necessary to foster a culture of safety and achieve error-free identification of all analytical requests and samples.