UT-Harris
County Psychiatric Center
Nursing
Procedures
Laboratory
Harris County Psychiatric Center: Office Administration
This test is used for screening purposes and as a diagnostic aid to monitor for gastrointestinal sources of bleeding
lab specimen, fecal occult, blood testing
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Date
of Last Review: 5/19/08
SME: Associate Director of Nursing
This procedure provides guidelines for obtaining fecal
occult blood test results as ordered by a physician and applies to all licensed
nursing staff. This test is used for
screening purposes and as a diagnostic aid to monitor for gastrointestinal
sources of bleeding.
Procedure:
Competency to perform such testing will be assessed annually
during the nursing skills lab. The
nursing supervisor, nurse manager, and/or Ancillary staff will act as a
resource person for staff needing further education, training, and supervision.
Nursing staff will follow the
established safety guidelines for UTHCPC as outlined in the Safety, Infection
Control, and Nursing procedures specifically as they relate to blood and body
fluid precautions, standard precautions, and specimen collection and handling.
Nursing staff will educate patients as
to the purpose of testing and ensure patients have the appropriate knowledge
and supplies for the collection of specimens.
Nursing staff will send the specimen
to the lab for processing.
Ancillary staff will ensure that all
SKD Hemoccultâ supplies have appropriate expiration
dates prior to initiation of testing to include, but not limited to the
following:
Check SKD Hemoccultâ card lot no. and expiration date.
Check SKD Hemoccultâ developer for lot no. and expiration date as well as clarity of
developer solution. If solution is
cloudy, discard and use another bottle of developer solution, once again
checking for lot no. and expiration date.
Ancillary staff will follow and refer
to the manufacturer’s specific instructions on how to complete the SKD
Hemoccultâ testing to ensure accuracy of procedure
and results.
Ancillary staff will complete the
“Performance Monitor” as directed on the Hemoccultâ card for each specimen received to ensure quality and validity of the
testing.
Ancillary staff will record the results of each test on the
“Fecal
Occult Blood Record Log” maintained in the lab area.
Ancillary staff will report results to
the Assigned Nurse.
Licensed staff shall be responsible
for reporting abnormal (positive) results upon completion of testing
to the ordering physician or on-call physician. All results shall be documented in the medical record.
Related JCAHO Section(s):