2024 Volume 2 Article ID: 2024-003
Completion of reporting of the results of early morning blood specimens (early morning ward specimens) from inpatients before the start of daytime work is considered to be desirable. Our hospital investigated how to improve the reporting rate to a target of 100% by 8:30 am. The measures included starting this early work 30 minutes earlier, and simplification of collection and verification of early morning ward specimens by clinical technologists, with use of clear targets to compare the efficiency before and after implementation of these measures. The targets were the arrival time of specimens at the inspection room and the percentage report completion (reporting rate) at 8:00 am and 8:30 am for biochemistry data and blood cell counts. The results showed earlier arrival times, with changes from 7:11 am to 6:40 am for Ward A and from 7:18 am to 7:04 am for Ward B. The reporting rates increased for biochemistry data from 39.9% to 86.6% at 8:00 am and from 84.5% to 97.5% at 8:30 am, and for blood counts from 84.8% to 93.5% at 8:00 am and from 96.1% to 98.3% at 8:30 am. The earlier reporting times and more complete reports are likely to lead to prompter treatment and earlier discharge, with a corresponding shortening of the days of hospitalization.
