Sample vs$.$

specimen

Importance

of good

management

Sample

management

components

Sample management is a part of process

control, one of the essentials of a quality

management system.

The quality of the work a laboratory

produces is only as good as the quality

of the samples it uses for testing. The

laboratory must be proactive in

ensuring that the samples it receives

meet all of the requirements needed to

produce accurate test results.

Organization

Purchasing

&

Inventory

Personnel

Process

Control

Equipment

Documents

&

Records

Occurrence

Management

Information

Management

Process

Improvement

Customer

Service

Assessment

Facilities

&

Safety

ISO and CLSI define a sample as $$one or more parts taken from a system and intended to

provide information on the system$($ISO $15189$:$2007).$ The term $$specimen$$ is very

commonly used in the laboratory to indicate a sample taken from the human body, but the

terminology used throughout ISO documents is $$primary sample$,$ or just $$sample$.$ In this

workshop, the terms $$sample$$ and $$specimen$$ should be considered interchangeable.

It is useful to note that in some of the existing transport regulations, the term $$specimen$$

continues to be used.

Proper management of samples is critical to the accuracy and reliability of testing, and,

therefore, to the confidence in laboratory diagnosis. Laboratory results influence

therapeutic decisions and can have significant impact on patient care and outcomes. It is

important to provide accurate laboratory results in order to assure good treatment.

Inaccuracies in testing can impact length of hospital stays, as well as hospital and

laboratory costs. Inaccuracies can also affect laboratory efficiency, leading to repeat

testing with resultant waste of personnel time, supplies, and reagents.

Written policies for sample management must be established and reflected in the

Laboratory Handbook. Components to be addressed include:

$$ information needed on requisitions or forms

$$ handling urgent requests

$$ collection, labeling, preservation and transport

$$ safety practices $($leaking or broken containers, contaminated forms, other biohazards$)$

$$ evaluating, processing, and tracking samples

$$ storage, retention, and disposal. list some MCQ with answers