Morning Draws:

Phlebotomy employees arrive between 0500 and 0530; depart for patient care areas at 0540. All floors should have phlebotomy in progress or completed by 0900-0930.

Scheduling AM phlebotomy draws
To schedule patient draws for the phlebotomy team, place orders in Epic as "ONCE AM" or "DAILY AM" at 0600 with a priority of RTN. Orders with this priority will print in the laboratory each morning between 0500-0530.

Requesting Phlebotomy to draw patients not previously scheduled or adding tests to previously scheduled patients

• Orders placed after 0500 on the day of draw WILL NOT print in the laboratory but will release a hyperlink to EPIC for collection. The inpatient phlebotomists will print a report from EPIC that lists ALL labs (RN and phlebotomy) in an attempt to find orders that did not print in the lab.
• Nursing should communicate late orders for the am draw by printing a patient census and noting all additional tests that they'd like phlebotomy to draw, all priority specimens, cancelations and RN draws as well as other patient lab considerations next to the patient's name on the list. Please place the unit census list in the Laboratory folder before 0600. See Below.

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 University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics 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 UI Hospitals and Clinics 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 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.