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Health Professionals > Primary Clinical Care Manual

Handbook for the Collection, Storage and Transportation of Pathology Specimens in Rural & Remote Queensland

The need for the Handbook for the Collection, Storage and Transport of Pathology Specimens in Rural and Remote Queensland was first identified in 2001 by the Program Area Managers of the Rural and Remote and Pathology Quality System Program Areas, Quality Improvement and Enhancement Program (QIEP).

The aims of this Handbook are to provide relevant and appropriate information for rural and remote health staff and to encompass areas from the ordering of tests, labelling, collection of specimens, pre-laboratory processing, transport of specimens and accessing of results.

The Handbook has been developed as a companion to the Primary Clinical Care Manual (PCCM) and Chronic Disease Guidelines and incorporates the pathology investigations contained in the PCCM and Chronic Disease Guidelines, as well as the more common tests performed in small rural hospitals and primary health care centres.

Patient safety is of primary concern. Therefore, it is important that every effort be made to ensure that the correct procedure for collection and transport of specimens is carried out at all times to achieve the best possible outcome.

Pathology Queensland provides pathology services to all Queensland Health facilities from thirty-three laboratories throughout Queensland. A list of the laboratories is included in Appendix B.

Any queries regarding the pathology service should be directed to the nearest Pathology Queensland laboratory in the first instance. All Pathology Queensland laboratories provide a basic set of investigations with more sophisticated investigations referred to larger laboratories in Brisbane and Regional centres. Any queries regarding the pathology service including pathology investigations not listed in this manual, or the requirements for collection of specimens should be directed to the nearest Pathology Queensland laboratory in the first instance.
 

Section

Heading

File - PDF Symbol 

 

Copyright

46 KB

 

Foreword

180 KB

 

Introduction

40 KB

 

Acknowledgements

50 KB

 

Table of Contents

72 KB

Section 1 Patient Confidentiality

51KB

Section 2 Safety Procedures

55 KB

Section 3 Pathology Requests

56 KB

Section 4 Specimen Labelling

52 KB

Section 5 Processing Specimens

50 KB

Section 6 Transport of Specimens to the Laboratory

66 KB

Section 7 Access to Results

151 KB

Section 8 Specimen Collection Guidelines

698 KB

Section 9 Procedures

492 KB

 

References

50 KB

 

Appendix A - Alphabetical list of tests

74 KB

 

Appendix B - QHPSS Contact Numbers

55 KB

 

Appendix C - Storage of Specimens for Microbiology

66 KB

For more information about the Handbook for the Collection, Storage and Transport of Pathology Specimens in Rural and Remote Queensland, please contact the Clinical Directorate, Northern Area Health Service on (07) 4019 6414.

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Last Updated: 30 July 2008
Last Reviewed: 30 July 2008