Doctor Information
Collection Instructions and Technical Information
Specimen Identification (Acceptance/Rejection Criteria)
The minimum acceptable requirements for labeling samples are two (2) identifiers attributable to the patient. Usually this will be the patients full name and date of birth (or Medical Record number). Samples which are not labeled with two (2) identifiers are considered to be inadequately labeled and referring practitioners are urged to ensure each submitted sample is adequately labeled. Unlabelled samples may only be tested after authorization by the referring practitioner, and reports issued will bear the following statement “Specimen was received unlabelled/or not labelled in accordance with NATA/RCPA requirements”.
- Pap smears – Good laboratory practice dictates that slide carriers should not contain a label, encouraging referring practitioners to write on the outside of the slide carrier only; slides must be labeled and as a consequence pap slide carriers are not issued with labels.
Instructions for the use of the cervex brush for the collection of Pap Smears may be found here.
Instructions for collecting Thin Prep specimens may be found here.
Please contact the lab for any further information.
- Sample collection containers should not be labeled prior to collecting the sample; samples should be labeled immediately after sample has been placed into them.
- Order of draw – to reduce the possible effects of cross-contamination between the different preservatives added to collection tubes, the following order of draw is recommended by the manufacturer: Blood cultures; Citrate; ACD; SST; Hep/PST; EDTA; Oxalate; Trace
