Phlebotomy Vocab/Notes

Phlebotomy

Derives from greek origin, meaning “vein incision”

Exsanguinate

Blood withdrawn to a dangerous or deadly limit

Ambulatory

Outpatient care

Non-ambulatory

Inpatient care

CEU

Continuing education units

HIPAA

Health insurance portability & accountability act

PHI

Protected health information - Individually identifiable health information transmitted in any way, electronic or otherwise

Kinesics

Study of non-verbal language

Kinesic slip

Verbal and non-verbal language do not match up

Proxemics

Study of an individual’s use of space

Primary care

Patient care given by patient’s main source of care

Secondary care

Medical care give by a specialist or facility of expertise

Tertiary care

Highly specialized care

CPT

Certified phlebotomy technician

CPT billing

Current procedural terminology: provides terminology and coding system for physician billing

CLIA ‘88 Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment

Federal law passed by Congress and administered by CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) establishes quality standards for all labs in the US, regardless of location, type, or size, to ensure the accuracy, consistency, and reliability of patient test results.

CMS

center for medicare/medical services

CLSI Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute

The Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) is a global, non-profit standards developing organization whose mission is to develop standards for best clinical and laboratory practices and promote their use worldwide.

Certification

awarded to a person completing academic training in a specific area of expertise & upon completing an exam proving proficiency. Following this class, you will be prepared to take the NCCT phlebotomy exam. This is a national certification that will afford you the ability to practice as a phlebotomist in most states.

License

official document in healthcare that gives legal permission to work in a field. California requires that you have a license to practice phlebotomy. To receive your license in the state of California, you must complete an externship of 40+ hours and 50+ successful blood draws after successfully passing the NCCT

Continuing education

needed every couple of years to update knowledge or skills in a given profession. Most certifying and licensing agencies require proof of CEUs (continuing education units) for renewal of the certification/license

Patient interaction

Crucial to the success of the laboratory overall as the phlebotomist will often be the only point of contact of pt with the lab

Recognize diversity

Be aware that we will be serving a widely diverse population

Practice good communication

Be aware of communication barriers, such as language limitations, emotions and age.

Look professional

Smell neutral. No cologne or perfume. Don’t chew gum, keep nails neat and short.

Non blaming language

Never make them feel like it’s their fault blood cannot be collected (Do not say you have rolling veins, deep veins, etc)

Confidentiality

a key component of the professional in the healthcare field. Patients are legally protected by HIPPA and violations of confidentiality can result in legal action against the person or organization that violates confidentiality laws.

blood bank (immunohematology)

pink tubes, lavender tubes, red top no additive, strict PT ID, FDTA

chemistry

green (STAT) tubes, red tubes, gray tubes, yellow ACD tubes

coagulation

light blue tubes

hematology (whole blood tests)

lavender tubes

Microbiology

Blood cultures, yellow SPS tubes

Serology (study of serum) or immunology (study of immune systems)

SST tubes

Types of kinesics

body language, gesture, facial expression

Negative kinesics

face turned away

3 ways to draw blood

venipuncture, capillary, arterial

% of medical decision based on phlebotomy diagnostics

50-70

The joint commission

The oldest and largest setting body in healthcare. TJC continuously strives to improve healthcare for the public. it is a non profit organization commonly associated with “the standard of care”

QA - quality assurance

A program designed to guarantee quality service & amp; processes used to create standardization of service. QA takes a broad looks forward and backward to prevent problems

QC - quality control

A component of QA that deals with specific activities and techniques that are performed to deliver a service or product. Every day, ongoing and everyone’s responsibility

Threshold data

A level of care beyond which quality cannot be assured

Tort law

Most common civil action in healthcare deals with tort lawT

Tort

A wrongful act committed against a person

Assault

Act or threat causing another to be in immediate fear of battery

Battery

Intentional harmfulor offensive touching

Invasion of privacy

Violation of one’s right to be left alone

Malpractice

A type of negligence committed by a professional

Negligence

Failure to exercise due care - commonly know as the “reasonable person standard”

Informed consent

Implies voluntary or competent permission for a medical procedure, test, or medication

Expressed consent

Can be given verbally. or in writing

Implied consent

Actions or circumstances imply consent without verbal or written consent (arm extended, patient unconscious)

Consent for minors

Parent or guardian consent on behalf of the minor child

Refusal of consent

An individual has a right to refuse medical care and procedures

Most critical aspect in phlebotomy

Identification of a patient

Labeling

Patient specimen must be exact

Procedural manual

Provides written policy and procedure in regard to every test or procedure performed by the lab staff. In the event that a phlebotomist is unfamiliar with a test, they should refer to the manual. If the phlebotomist has a question related to a patient, they should refer the question to the physician or nurse.

Internal reports

Become part of legal record. They need to remain factual. No suggestions should be part of the form.

Obtaining consent

Must obtain consent before proceeding to attempt a draw. Their consent will be expressed (Yes, ok) or implied (arm extended)

Sharing site criteria

Necessary to communicate information about a patient with another lab staff or medical staff.

Example of QC on NCCT

uroreagent sticks or checking the expiration dates daily

What happens if threshold is crossed?

Leads to CAPA (corrective action/preventative action)

Assault and battery NCCT

Always paired but different

CLIA law

Its the old but still active law that licenses all labs (minimum standard)

CLSI law

currently sets industry standards always changing (ongoing standard)

Examples of potential negligence

sharps go in sharps container, put guard rails back on bed

Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM)

timed, peak and trough, vancomycin

Who to refer to for unfamiliar test

specimen → manual/lab

pt → RN/MD

Cardi

heart

Cyt

cell

erythr

red

Gluc

Sugar/glucose

Glyc

sugar/glucose

Hem

blood

Hemat

blood

Leuk

white

Lip

fat

Nephr

kidney

Prandi

meal

Thromb

clot

Cyan

blue

Homeo

same

Intra

within

Inter

between

Post

after

Emia

blood condition

Logy

study of

Lysis

breakdown

Rrhage

burst forth/excessive flow

Stasis

stopping, controlling, standing

ABG

Arterial Blood Gasses

aPTT

activated partial thromboplastin time

BMP

basic metabolic profile

BUN

Blood Urea Nitrogen

CBC

Complete Blood Count

CK

creatine kinase

CSF

Cerebrospinal Fluid

ESR/SED RATE

erythrocyte sedimentation rate

ETOH

ethyl alcohol

GTT

glucose tolerance testHCG – human chorionic gonadotropin

HCG

human chorionic gonadotropin