Collecting blood samples is a frequently used method to diagnose and monitor diseases, and thanks to blood samples, long and sometimes painful examinations can often be avoided.
Blood condition says something about the patient's overall health condition and reveals more specific diseases and conditions. A health check of the general health usually involves a blood sample and is an extremely important and useful tool for controlling the harmful organisms presented in the blood.
Learn more about the process of blood collection
A blood sample is taken by a physician, in a laboratory or hospital and in many cases the blood sample is sent on to analysis. It takes about 5 minutes to take a blood sample. Blood samples are taken in the arm, hand, finger or ear, depending on the analysis to be made. Children under 6 months, a blood sample can also be taking in the heel.
Before the blood sample is taken, a tourniquet (elastic) is placed tightly on the upper arm. It causes blood to build up and fill the veins so that the blood sample can easily be taken. In order to prevent bacteria, the skin is cleaned before the blood sample is taken. It is common to take several samples.
To achieve the best procedure for blood collection you must start considering the main goal. Is it to speed up the delivery of test results? Is it to improve the quality of the test results? Or to reduce human resources involved in the process?
Perhaps the main goal should be more ambitious as say " We want to offer the best treatment of the patient" How do we do that? If we see it from the patient’s point of view it could be to be diagnosed immediately, to understand exactly what the timeline is, to be informed, to spend as little time at the hospital as possible, and to be healthy as soon as possible.
The demands from the patient must also be in line with the economic point of view from the healthcare system. The faster and better we can do it, the cheaper it will be, but not so fast that we lose the quality.
To reach these demands the procedure needs to be accurate, fast and with zero errors. To make it fast all information need to be digital. The need for traceability is important. The logistic is critical because everything can be digital, apart from when the blood is drawn and the actual analysis process.
So, the parameters for the optimal procedure for blood collection could be like this: The patient needs to be registered in the IT system, the request must be digital, the blood tube needs to be unique and traceable with barcode (no paper wrapped around it as this can be separated), the transport to the laboratory needs to be fast and with no errors and the analyzing machine must be automated to avoid human errors. Finally, the analysis result must be digitally transferred to the doctor.
What kind of solutions do we have today to meet the request for the optimal procedure for blood collection? Many providers offer HIS (Hospital Information System) and LIS (Laboratory Information System) IT solutions that work perfectly together. Blood drawings will still be handled manually as there is no automated solution for this today. Transportation of blood samples to the laboratory should be treated as if each patient is equally important and therefore a dedicated logistic system is required.
KNAP: More about optimizing procedures for blood collection
Today, Tempus600 is the only solution with zero errors, always available, no bundling and it is connectable to basically all lab automation system. Total lab automation systems are provided by both IVD companies but a completely open solution from e.g. Inpeco and GLP are also available. Fast analyzing systems deliver results directly to the LIS from all IVD companies. The circle is now completed and the fastest, the most precise and fully traceable solution is provided.
The most effective procedure for blood collection is made only with one-touch handling which will lead to optimal treatment. Likewise implementing a TEMPUS600 system connected directly to the lab is essential when it comes to fast and secure transportation of blood samples and accurate patient treatment.
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