Handling Add-on Lab Tests
Course Objectives
The purpose of this article is to be able to:
- Define add-on laboratory testing and its role in patient-centered care.
- Describe specimen stability and retention requirements.
- Identify best practices for documentation and communication for add-on requests.
- Highlight how phlebotomists contribute to add-on testing accuracy and compliance.
Course Content
Course Creator: Adriana Alley CMA
Total CE Hours: 1 Credit Hour
Pace Course #:
Brief Overview: Add-on laboratory testing plays an essential yet often overlooked role in modern patient care. This article explains how phlebotomists contribute to the success of add-on testing by maintaining specimen integrity long after collection. It highlights the importance of accurate labeling, proper storage, and timely communication between clinical and laboratory teams to ensure additional tests can be performed without recollecting samples. Readers will review specimen stability guidelines, documentation requirements, and common errors that can compromise accuracy. Designed for both practicing and aspiring phlebotomists, this article emphasizes efficiency, patient safety, regulatory compliance, and collaboration in the add-on testing process.
References:
- Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. (2020). GP44-A4: Procedures for the handling and processing of blood specimens for common laboratory tests. CLSI.
- College of American Pathologists. (2023). Specimen retention and storage requirements checklist. CAP.
- Introduction to specimen collection. (n.d.). Labcorp. https://www.labcorp.com/test-menu/resources/introduction-to-specimen-collection
- Flores, C. F. Y., De Las Mercedes Hurtado Pineda, Á., Bonilla, V. M. C., & Sáenz-Flor, K. (2020, March 20). Sample management: stability of plasma and serum on different storage conditions. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7109503/
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Specimen storage and shipping guidance for clinical laboratories. CDC.
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2023). Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) interpretive guidelines. CMS.
- Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). GP44-A4: Procedures for the Handling and Processing of Blood Specimens for Common Laboratory Tests
- Office of the Deputy Director of Infectious Diseases. (n.d.). Specimen storage and shipping guidance. https://www.cdc.gov/laboratory/specimen-submission/pdf/Specimen-Packing-and-Shipping-Guidance-Infectious-Diseases-Laboratories.pdf
- Snyder, S. R., Favoretto, A. M., Derzon, J. H., et. al. (2012). Effectiveness of barcoding for reducing patient specimen and laboratory testing identification errors: A Laboratory Medicine Best Practices systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Biochemistry, 45(13–14), 988–998. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2012.06.019
- Badiye, A., Kapoor, N., & Menezes, R. G. (2023, February 13). Chain of custody. StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK551677/
- StatPearls Publishing. (2024). Chain of custody and specimen handling in laboratory medicine. StatPearls.
