Phlebotomy Safety and Compliance

Vocabulary flashcards covering regulatory compliance, operational standards, quality control, biohazard disposal, infection precautions, and emergency management in phlebotomy.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards that could cause workplace injuries or illness.

Scope of Practice

The range of health care services, procedures, and tasks that a licensed health care professional is authorized to perform within their profession.

Gender Identity

An individual's internal sense of their own gender, whether male or female, a blend of both, neither, or any other gender.

Gender Expression

How a person outwardly expresses their gender identity, which can include physical appearance, clothing, hairstyles, behavior, voice, and other forms of presentation.

Misgendering

The act of using the wrong pronouns or gendered language when referring to an individual.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

The federal entity within the CDC and DHHS tasked with researching and recommending strategies to prevent workplace-related injuries and illnesses.

PASS

An acronym describing the proper steps to operate a fire extinguisher: Pull the pin, Aim the nozzle, Squeeze the trigger, and Sweep the nozzle at the base of the fire.

Operational Standards

Protocols based on best practices and guidelines to ensure the safety, accuracy, and efficiency of the phlebotomy process and specimen handling.

The Joint Commission (TJC)

A health care organization whose mission is to ensure safety by establishing standards, promoting safety, encouraging continuing education, and creating annual National Patient Safety Goals.

Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI)

An organization that develops standards globally to improve medical laboratory testing and patient care through standardization and best practices.

Aseptic Technique

A practice used to reduce the chance of microbial contamination.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

A federal law enacted to protect the personal health information (PHI) and confidentiality of patients.

Personal Health Information (PHI)

Individually identifiable health information transmitted by electronic media, or transmitted or maintained in any other form or medium.

Quality Control (QC)

The process that is used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of results before they are finalized and released.

Quality Assurance (QA)

A process designed to prevent future problems by analyzing past and present performance.

Clinical Laboratory Improvement Advisory Committee (CLIAC)

A committee formed to assist in administering regulations and advise if revisions are needed in laboratory standards.

Point-of-Care Testing (POCT)

Clinical laboratory testing that is done close to the location where patient care and treatment are provided, such as at the bedside using portable devices.

CLIA-Waived Tests

Laboratory tests classified under CLIA '88 that have the lowest complexity, are simple, and carry minimal risk of harming a patient if performed incorrectly.

Calibration

Adjusting and fine-tuning laboratory equipment to ensure it produces accurate and consistent results based on known or set standards.

Biohazards

Disease-producing pathogens that can be transmitted through various routes of exposure.

Sharps

The tools used to puncture the skin of the patient during blood collection, most often a needle or lancet.

Exposure Control Plan

A written facility plan outlining how to prevent or reduce occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens and the exact steps to follow if an exposure occurs.

Bloodborne Pathogen

Any infectious micro-organism present in blood and other body fluids or tissue.

Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act

Legislation mandating revisions to OSHA standards to require safer medical devices, employee involvement in device selection, and the maintenance of a sharps injury log.

Sharps Injury Log

A confidential record mandated by OSHA detailing the type and brand of device involved in an injury, the location of the incident, and an explanation of how it occurred.

Universal Precautions

Infection control practices based on the principle of treating all human blood and certain body fluids as if they were known to be infectious for bloodborne pathogens.

Standard Precautions

The minimum infection prevention practices that apply to all patient care in any healthcare delivery setting, regardless of suspected or confirmed infection status.

Transmission-Based Precautions

Targeted precautions used in addition to standard precautions when a patient has a suspected or confirmed communicable illness; categorized into contact, droplet, and airborne precautions.

Contact Precautions

Precautions used when there is concern for pathogen transmission via direct or indirect contact with the patient or their environment, requiring gown and gloves.

Droplet Precautions

Precautions used when there is concern for pathogen transmission through respiratory or mucous membrane contact with respiratory secretions, requiring a mask, goggles, or face shield.

Airborne Precautions

Precautions used for pathogens that remain infectious over significant distances, requiring a fit-tested N95 or N99 respirator and a negative pressure room.

Chain of Infection

The six-component cycle required for disease transmission: infectious agent, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry, and susceptible host.

Nosocomial Infection

An infection acquired by a patient while inside a hospital or other medical facility.

Safety Data Sheet (SDS)

A document providing information about a chemical product, its safe workplace handling, associated hazards, flammability rating, and spill cleanup procedures.

RACE

An acronym outlining the order of action during a fire: Rescue others who are in danger, Alarm (activate the fire alarm), Confine the fire by closing doors and windows, and Extinguish the fire.

Syncope

Fainting or sudden loss of consciousness, commonly marked by sweating, pale or flushed skin, and shallow breathing during blood collection.

Hematoma

A rapidly developing localized swelling filled with blood at the needle insertion site that may appear discolored.

Petechiae

Small red spots appearing on the arm surrounding the area where a tourniquet is applied.

FAST

An acronym for identifying the warning signs of a stroke: Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, and Time to call 911.