Cancelled lab tests—study analyzes why
September 2013—A handful, a fraction of a percent, a tiny portion. In most institutions, that’s about how many tests are cancelled after they’ve been ordered and a specimen has been sent to the laboratory. But even that small number can have significant quality implications. The authors of the Q-Probes study, ”Reasons for Test Cancellation,” looked at more than a million specimen accessions at several dozen institutions, to get a fix on why tests are being cancelled and to gain insight into how laboratories can bring that number down. As the study makes clear, there is definitely room for improvement.