CAP TODAY Pathology/Laboratory Medicine/Laboratory Management
Dr. Adcock
Dr. Adcock has worked on the book since 2003 and said the editors strive to keep the material current with changing laboratory practices. “The laboratory is evolving and that includes phlebotomy,” she says. “It’s evolving to become more quality-assurance-centric, more focused on patient safety, and with greater focus on becoming part of the whole health care system.”
The new information on ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous cannulation provides guidance to phlebotomists working with patients with difficult intravenous access. “There are increasing numbers of these patients, drug abusers who have used up all their peripheral easy-to-get-to veins, and burn patients, and other patients who have specific difficulties,” Dr. Kiechle says. In these situations, whoever is drawing the blood must evaluate the patient to determine whether to call the ultrasound-guided service.
The editors consolidated the hand hygiene guidelines—dispersed throughout different sections in previous editions—into one section on sterility near the front of the book. The section contains illustrations of how to use an alcohol-based handrub and step-by-step instructions for performing a three-minute hand scrub with soap and water.
Relevance to routine practice determines whether new information makes the cut in new editions of the manual, first published in 1974. When he started reading about ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous cannulation, for example, Dr. Kiechle thought, “Wow, this is something we need to tell the world about.”
“We really try to be up-to-date, even if it means losing a little money,” he says, referring to an earlier edition that became obsolete after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued new rules about blood collection device disposal. “That was six months after we published the books, so we had to throw those books out.”
Reception to the manual has been positive over the years, though in more of a “no news is good news” way. “Like everything in life, if they love the book we almost never hear from them,” Dr. Kiechle says. “I like to say that if they love the book, they buy the book. And the book does sell well.”
Dr. Adcock has a subtle method of making sure the book reaches the right audience. “I do pay attention when I get my own phlebotomy, and I have the book handy,” she says. “I try to leave it behind when I think they could use a bit of help.”
Any pathologist who purchases the book for a phlebotomy team can be confident the team members are following current guidelines from the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, OSHA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Joint Commission, and the CAP.
“When you’re trying to train your students or even review things with people who have been doing it a long time, you’re going to have the latest and greatest information at your fingertips,” Dr. Kiechle says.
[hr]
Amy Carpenter Aquino is CAP TODAY senior editor. To order (PUB225), call the CAP at 800-323-4040 option 1. For members, $28; for others, $35 ($25 at ebooks.cap.org). Volume pricing available on print edition.