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-: Providers and healthcare workers,
including laboratory scientists and phlebotomists,
can help involve patients in their own care
by listening and inviting questions.
When questions are presented by the patient,
then taking action, involving the patient in their own care.
If they voice a concern, take actions on those concerns.
I believe it's really important that we engage
the patients in their own care.
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Sometimes I do observations directly with patient care.
I observe an outpatient phlebotomy draw.
I look to see that they're asking the patient identifiers,
name and date of birth typically.
I also look to see that we've labeled
the patient tube accurately, and that we have a process
that ensures safe, reliable, accurate results.
And 70% of all diagnoses are made from a laboratory result.
So it's very important
that we get it right from the beginning.
The pre-analytic process is safe,
and that's where the patient can really be involved
and advocate for their own care.
They can look at those labels, and make sure that their name
and date of birth is correct on those labels.
It could be that the process
after that tube leaves the patient is safe.
And in the analytic environment of the laboratory,
I look at quality controls, calibration verification,
linearities, making sure that the analytic process
is giving accurate results.
And then I look at the reporting process,
after the results have been reported to the physician.
I look to make sure that the order is evident,
and that we did the test that was ordered by that patient,
or ordered by that provider.
I also look to see that we have reference ranges
and interpretive data as needed in that report,
so that it can help guide the clinician
in taking the best care possible for our patients.
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World Patient Safety Day is exciting for me
because I have a passion for quality
and safety of patient healthcare.
And one of the ways that the patient safety
is important to me is that I can advocate for patient safety
in the healthcare setting, particularly for the laboratory,
to ensure that the patient is heard.
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