What is the immediate action to take when a specimen is found to be mislabeled before testing can proceed?

What is the immediate action to take when a specimen is found to be mislabeled before testing can proceed?

• A. Proceed with testing
• B. Quarantine the mislabelled specimen and recollect from the correct patient if possible.
• C. Ignore
• D. Dispose

Answer: (B)

When patient identification is uncertain due to a mislabeled specimen, the priority is to protect patient safety and result accuracy. The immediate action is to quarantine the mislabelled specimen and arrange a recollection from the correct patient if possible. This pause prevents testing or reporting results for the wrong individual and keeps the sample available for investigation and proper labeling. Proceeding with testing would risk generating incorrect results for the wrong patient, while ignoring or disposing of the specimen fails to resolve the mislabeling and can lead to wasted samples and safety issues. By quarantining and initiating recollection, the lab maintains integrity and ensures the right patient gets the right result.

When patient identification is uncertain due to a mislabeled specimen, the priority is to protect patient safety and result accuracy. The immediate action is to quarantine the mislabelled specimen and arrange a recollection from the correct patient if possible. This pause prevents testing or reporting results for the wrong individual and keeps the sample available for investigation and proper labeling. Proceeding with testing would risk generating incorrect results for the wrong patient, while ignoring or disposing of the specimen fails to resolve the mislabeling and can lead to wasted samples and safety issues. By quarantining and initiating recollection, the lab maintains integrity and ensures the right patient gets the right result.