Analysis of preanalytical nonconformance in a medium-sized private pathology laboratory.

OBJECTIVES:To determine the frequency of preanalytical nonconformance in a medium-sized private pathology laboratory. METHODS:A retrospective audit was performed at Southern IML Pathology in Wollongong and Nowra, Australia, to identify incidences of nonconformance over a 12-month period from October 2012 to September 2013. Data were obtained using an in-house nonconformance reporting system and from the quarterly Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Key Incident Monitoring and Management System. RESULTS:There were 584,012 patient episodes tested and 2,726,597 tests performed at Southern IML Pathology during the study period. Of the 11,266 incidences of nonconformance during the study period, 3,613 (32%) were from collection, 2,164 (19%) were from the specimen reception area, and 2,242 (20%) were from data entry. In total, 3,045 (27%) incidences required a re-collection. A total of 10,972 patients had an incidence of preanalytical nonconformance, which is 1.9% of patients who had tests performed during the study period. CONCLUSIONS:This is one of few studies of preanalytical nonconformance in a medium-sized private laboratory setting. Monitoring nonconformance for a pathology laboratory is essential to determine areas where further improvements can be made.