Specimens Processing

Specimens that are not collected and transported to the laboratoryas recommended, we reserve the right to reject the specimens for testing. Refer to List of Reasons for Specimen Rejection for more details on rejection criteria.

Non-recollectable specimens which do not comply with the specimen acceptance criteria are not rejected but require rectification by the ordering clinician. Ordering clinician is required to come to the laboratory personally to verify the correct patient identification and to fill up the rectification form which can be downloaded from WH intranet.

For any rectifications performed, an incident report is filed in PRISM. The test report has a clear disclaimer detailing the shortcomings of the specimen and/or test order, and the ordering clinician is held responsible for the results and for any action taken as a result of the report.

Radioactive specimens are not accepted for testing.

Specimens received by the laboratory including rejected specimens are discarded and therefore not returned to ordering locations except for tissue specimens that are exempted from pathologic examination. Refer to Anatomic Pathology Exclusion List. Specimens listed in the Anatomic Pathology exclusion list are not accepted by the laboratory but returned to the sending location for disposal.

The laboratory does not accept requests for cancellation of recollectable specimens after they have been received by the laboratory. The only exemption to this is for mislabelled specimens. In instance where the ordering clinician insist in cancelling the order, the ordering location is charged.

Refer to Cancellation form, found on the WH Intranet. An incident report is filed in PRISM.