MLSP PHLEBOTOMY

Cards (35)

  • Review of Healthcare Facilities:
    1. Hospital Organizations
    2. Physician Office Laboratories
    3. Health Maintenance Organizations
    4. Reference Laboratories
    5. Blood Donor Centers
  • Hospital Organizations:
    • Phlebotomists may work in these areas or patients may be referred to the laboratory for sample collection
    • Hospitals may vary in size from 50 to over 300 beds
    • Classification of Hospitals by DOH:
    • Government: Created by law, may be under National Government, LGU, DOH, State Universities and Colleges
    • Private: Owned, established, and operated with funds from various sources
  • Hospital Services and Departments:
    • Nursing Services: Direct patient care
    • Support Services: Communications systems, food, housekeeping
    • Fiscal Services: Business aspect like accounting, admitting, data collection
    • Professional Services: Assist physicians in diagnosis and treatment
    • Professional Service Departments include Radiology, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, and Clinical Laboratory
  • Physician Office Laboratories:
    • Consist of primary care physicians or specialists
    • Phlebotomists may process and package samples to be sent to hospital laboratories
  • Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs):
    • Managed care centers providing various services
    • Phlebotomists are part of the clinical laboratory staff
  • Reference Laboratories:
    • Independent labs that perform routine and specialized tests
    • Phlebotomists collect samples from patients referred to the reference lab
  • Blood Donor Centers:
    • Phlebotomists collect, label, and prepare blood and other components for transfusions
    • They interact with the public, conducting interviews and testing samples to screen potential donors
  • Patient Rights (DOH):
    • Right to appropriate medical care and humane treatment
    • Right to informed consent
    • Right to privacy and confidentiality
    • Right to information about their health
    • Right to choose healthcare provider and facility
    • Right to self-determination
    • Right to religious belief
    • Right to medical records
    • Right to leave
    • Right to refuse participation in medical research
    • Right to correspondence and receive visitors
    • Right to express grievances
    • Right to be informed of their rights and obligations as a patient
  • Tort Law:
    • Tort: A wrongful act causing harm to a person or property
    • Intentional torts: Assault, Battery, Defamation
    • Unintentional torts: Negligence, Malpractice
  • Practice in healthcare refers to misconduct or lack of skill by a health-care professional that results in injury to the patient
  • Negligence in healthcare is defined as the failure to give reasonable care by the health-care provider and must be proven in a malpractice suit
  • Four factors must be proven to claim negligence:
    1. Duty
    2. Breach of Duty
    3. Causation
    4. Damages
  • In phlebotomy, potential causes for patients to file cases of malpractice/negligence include:
    a. Nerve Injury
    b. Hemorrhage from accidental arterial puncture or inadequate pressure to the vein
    c. Drawing from inappropriate locations (e.g., same side as mastectomy)
    d. Injuries occurring when a patient faints
    e. Death of a patient caused by misidentification of a patient or sample
  • The clinical laboratory is divided into two areas: Anatomical and Clinical
  • Anatomical Area responsibilities include the analysis of surgical specimens, frozen sections, biopsies, cytological specimens, and autopsies
  • Anatomical Area specialized sections:
    a. Cytology Section: Processes and examines tissue and body fluids for abnormal cells like cancer cells. Common test: Papanicolaou (Pap) smear
  • Anatomical Area specialized sections:
    b. Histopathology/Histology Section: Processes and stains tissue from biopsies, surgery, autopsies, and frozen sections. A pathologist then examines the tissue
  • Anatomical Area specialized sections:
    c. Cytogenetics: Performs chromosome studies to detect genetic disorders
  • Clinical Area specialized sections:
    a. Hematology: Enumerates and classifies cellular elements like red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs), and platelets (Plts) in body fluids and bone marrow
  • Clinical Area specialized sections:
    b. Coagulation: Evaluates the overall process of hemostasis, including platelets, blood vessels, coagulation factors, fibrinolysis, inhibitors, and anticoagulant therapy
  • Clinical Area specialized sections:
    c. Clinical Chemistry: Performs electrophoresis, therapeutic drug monitoring, and enzyme immunoassays to measure substances like proteins, carbohydrates, enzymes, hormones, and toxicology
  • Clinical Area specialized sections:
    d. Blood Bank (Immunohematology): Collects, stores, and prepares blood for transfusion. Tests involve RBC antigens (Ag) and antibodies (Ab), blood group (ABO) and Rh type, compatibility (crossmatch), and identification of abnormal antibodies
  • Clinical Area specialized sections:
    e. Serology (Immunology): Performs tests to evaluate the body's immune response, including the production of antibodies (immunoglobulins) and cellular activation
  • Clinical Area specialized sections:
    f. Microbiology: Identifies pathogenic microorganisms and handles hospital infection control. Common tests include Culture and Sensitivity and Gram Staining
  • Clinical Area specialized sections:
    g. Urinalysis: Screens for kidney disorders, infections, and metabolic disorders through physical, chemical, and microscopic examination of urine
  • Laboratory personnel roles:
    1. Laboratory Director (Pathologist): Specialist in disease study, works in clinical and anatomical pathology, consults with physicians, establishes lab policies, interprets test results, performs biopsies, autopsies, and diagnoses diseases
  • Laboratory personnel roles:
    2. Laboratory Manager (Administrator) or Chief-Medical Technologist: Manages technical and administrative aspects of the lab, usually a medical laboratory scientist with a master's degree and experience
  • Laboratory personnel roles:
    3. Technical Supervisor or Section Head: Manages specific lab sections, reviews test results, consults with pathologists, schedules personnel, maintains instruments, prepares budgets, and provides protocols for new test procedures
  • Laboratory personnel roles:
    4. Medical Laboratory Scientist: Has a bachelor's degree in medical technology, performs lab procedures with independent judgment, maintains equipment and records, and ensures quality assurance
  • Laboratory personnel roles:
    5. Medical Laboratory Technician: Performs routine lab procedures under supervision, collects and processes samples, recognizes abnormal results, and demonstrates skills to new employees and students
  • Laboratory personnel roles:
    6. Phlebotomist: Collects blood for lab analysis, completes phlebotomy training, identifies patients correctly, and obtains blood samples
  • History of Phlebotomy:
    • Phlebotomy, meaning "to cut a vein," has roots in ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman cultures
    • Bloodletting was a common practice to cure illnesses, often performed using a lancet tool
    • In 1163, Pope Alexander III prohibited clergy from performing bloodlettings, leading barbers to take over as skilled practitioners (Barber-Surgeons)
  • Duties and characteristics of a Phlebotomist:
    • Traditional duties include patient preparation, blood collection, sample container selection, labeling, transportation, interaction with patients and staff, sample processing, record-keeping, and adherence to safety regulations
  • Additional duties of Phlebotomists:
    1. Training other healthcare personnel in phlebotomy
    2. Monitoring sample quality and associated protocols
    3. Performing point-of-care testing, electrocardiograms, vital sign measurements, arterial blood sample collection, and central venous access device sample collection
  • Characteristics of Phlebotomists:
    1. Dependable, cooperative, compassionate, organized
    2. Courteous, respectful, honest, responsible
    3. Competent, flexible, with good communication skills and respect for cultural diversity