Importance of Specimen Collection and handling in Diagnostic Centre

Getting routine tests done allows an individual to ensure that their body is truly healthy from within. However, how does a diagnostic centre ensure that their test results are accurate? This is where specimen collection and handling play a critical role.

If you need the services offered by the best diagnostic center near me but have no idea about the importance of specimen collection and its handling – it is essential to learn about its relevance first. In this article, we will be covering several aspects of specimen collection and handling initiated in a clinical diagnostic centre. We will be analyzing the importance of this process and what things to lookout for while choosing a diagnostic center where you wish to get tested.

Why is specimen collection and handling so important?

Specimen collection and handling involve collecting samples of tissues or fluids from the body of the patient to be sent for tests in a laboratory. Medical professionals must carry out this process very carefully and the patients are corporate in the process.

The quality of the specimen collection and storage from the patient’s body directly affects the accuracy of test results. Hence, to ensure that the test results are as precise as possible, medical professionals of your choice of the diagnostic center must carry out all the necessary practices to handle the specimens carefully.

One of the several methods used by any diagnostic centre to ensure that specimen collection is not hampered in any way is precise identification. Hence the patient’s first name and last name, date of birth, and Unique Identifying Number are written on the tube in which the specimen is stored.

Any good clinical diagnostic centre labels and stores the specimens in front of the patient themselves to ensure transparency. Likewise, one needs to ensure that the diagnostic center that they choose to go to carries out all the necessary practices to ensure that the quality of the specimen doesn’t fall.

If the specimen gets contaminated in any case, the consequences can lead to several problems for the patient as we will see in the next section. Hence, it is important that your choice of the diagnostic centre near me list handles the collected sample properly as well.

What if specimen collection and handling are not done properly?

Now that we know about the importance of going for only the best diagnostic centre near me in terms of specimen collection and handling, it is time to understand the various consequences of not improper implementation of the same. There are several ways in which its improper collection and handling affect the test results. These include:

● Improper labeling of specimen: in some cases, neglect on behalf of the diagnostic centrecan lead to improper labeling of the specimen collected. This can potentially lead to wrong results and underlying medical conditions might not be identified due to thismistake.

● Wrong amount of specimen collected: Another mistake in the process of specimen collection can be that enough of it is not collected from the patient’s body. This can lead to inaccurate results since the tests won’t be able to identify underlying diseases with a small sample of the specimen.

● Improper instructions to patients: depending on what kind of specimen is being collected, doctors advise their patients to follow a certain diet or fast for a few hours. If this set of instructions is not given properly, the quality of the specimen can get affected drastically, leading to unreliable test results. You can check the reviews of clinics to avoid this by searching for “diagnostic centre near me”.

● Improper storage of specimens: storing the collected specimen is one of the most crucial steps of this process. Since there are numerous ways through which the quality and integrity of a specimen can be compromised, any diagnostic centre must follow all the standard practices to keep it pure. This includes using clean storage, carrying out mandatory sanitary practices, and so on.

● The wrong temperature of the environment: if the collected specimen is stored in an unsuitable environment in terms of temperature, then its quality can degrade. The temperature at which the specimen should be stored depends upon the kind of specimen – and whether it demands to be stored at room, freezer, or refrigerator temperature.

Conclusion

It may seem convenient to simply use the best diagnostic center near me to find a good clinic, but it is best to know a little about what you are getting tested for and why. Specimen collection and handling directly affects a lot of tests, and hence it is strongly advised to only go for a diagnostic centre that does not compromise in terms of their service quality.

Improper collection and handling of the specimen can result in inaccurate test results. This can further lead to underlying conditions going undetected. To avoid such problems, you can search for the best diagnostic center near me and see what kind of sanitary protocols they follow through their reviews online.

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