Morning Draws:

Phlebotomy employees arrive at 0530; depart for patient care areas at 0600.
All floors should have phlebotomy in progress or completed by 0830-0900.

Scheduling AM phlebotomy draws
To schedule patient draws for the phlebotomy team, place orders iin Epic as “AM ONCE” or “AM DAILY” at 0600 with a priority of RTN between the hours of 0600 the previous day and 0500 the day of draw. Orders placed between 0500 and 0600 the day of draw will print out in the patient care area. These requisitions must be placed in the Laboratory folder before 0600.

Requesting Phlebotomy to draw patients not previously scheduled or adding tests to previously scheduled patients
Print Epic requisitions and place them in the Laboratory folder before 0600 and record the addition on a patient census list (see below). Please staple multiple requisitions on the same patient together. If an additional patient or test is added after 0600 put the EPIC requisitions in the lab folder AND locate/page the phlebotomist on the area.

Special requests
Print a patient list and record requests for early draws, phlebotomy draw cancellation or other patient considerations next to the patient’s name on the patient census list and place this list in the lab folder. Please record your name next to any cancelled phlebotomy draws.

Additional Policies and Information:

1. If a patient must be redrawn due to an error by the patient care area, it is the responsibility of the patient care area to reorder the tests as needed, print the requisition and discuss the reason for the additional draw with the patient. All suboptimal specimens drawn by phlebotomy and requiring a redraw will be handled by the phlebotomy team.
   


2. All phlebotomy team orders are considered routine. If a phlebotomy sample needs to be sent stat, it is the patient care area's responsibility to deliver that sample to the laboratory. The phlebotomy team does not draw timed specimens. The exact time that a phlebotomist arrives on the floor cannot be predicted. All specimens with critical draw times must be collected by patient care area personnel.
   


3. Phlebotomy will bring their own supplies for scheduled draws. If the patient is added to the phlebotomist's list, the phlebotomist may request supplies from the patient care area. E.g. blood culture bottles and supplies.
   


4. The phlebotomy team does not draw patient specimens for research projects without prior approval from the Department of Pathology. Call the Research Coordinator at 356-4149 for assistance.
   


5. The phlebotomy team will draw, but not deliver, samples that must be transported on ice or kept at body temperature. It is the patient care area's responsibility to deliver these specimens to the appropriate laboratory.
   


6. The phlebotomy team is not required to draw patients who are combative, uncooperative, or who refuse the phlebotomy procedure.
   


7. The phlebotomy team does not draw patients during blood product transfusion. Blood collections should be delayed until one hour after the transfusion is completed.
   


8. The phlebotomy team does not collect blood specimens from above an IV. If the patient has no collection sites on the arm opposite from a running IV, the phlebotomist will ask the RN to turn off the IV infusion and after a minimum of two minutes, the specimen will be collected below the IV.
   


9. All patients must have a bar coded UIHC ID bracelet on. Any patient not wearing an ID bracelet must be identified by patient care area staff and a bar coded ID bracelet must be placed in a UIHC approved site before the patient can be drawn.
   


10. The phlebotomy team does not perform any type of line draw. It is the responsibility of the patient care area to draw these samples. Be sure that all of your line draws are marked as Nurse in EPIC docflow.
    


11. After the phlebotomist has completed drawing the patients on each patient care area, he/she will leave a Nursing Collection Checklist at the nursing station. This lists all patients drawn by phlebotomy and the tests that were ordered. If blood was drawn, the phlebotomist will initial next to patient's name. If the patient was not drawn, the phlebotomist will record the reason they were cancelled (If known) and the name and title of the person notified. This list is left in the Laboratory Folder at the nursing station. It is the responsibility of the patient care area staff to check this list and pass on any necessary information to the care providers.


12. Questions concerning inpatient Phlebotomy may be addressed to Wendy Voigt at pager 1900 or you may contact a phlebotomy manager during the day at 6-3575; 3-7679 or the Laboratory Manager at 7-5266.

Priority/Communication Census List
Please print a census list from your unit, and write appropriate message(s) for the phlebotomy team next to the patient's name/hospital number on the list. INCLUDE your name and title. We must have a nurse's first and last name and a reason such as "drawn from PICC line" to cancel a lab test.