Healthcare Course Library for Continuing Education

OSOM Strep A Test Application

The OSOM Strep A Test detects viable or non-viable organisms from a throat swab, providing results within five minutes. In this course, participants will learn why testing from Group A Streptococcus is important, how the test works, general operations of the test, specimen preparation, testing procedures, interpreting results, and proper maintenance and quality control.

Contour Glucometer: Blood Glucose Monitoring System

The Contour Glucometer Blood Glucose Monitoring System is designed to be a simple, accurate blood glucose self-monitoring system for healthcare professionals and for people with diabetes. This course is designed to help participants understand how to properly use the meter in order to gain accurate testing results.

Multistix Urine Dipstick Test

The Multistix Urine Dipstick Test is intended for use in at-risk patient groups to assist with a diagnosis for kidney function regarding urinary tract infections, carbohydrate metabolism, and liver function. Test results can be used to help rule out certain disease states and determine when a microscopic analysis is needed. This course will provide an overview of the test, sample collection and preparation, routing use, test results reporting, maintenance and quality control, as described in the package insert.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in the Laboratory Setting

HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules have significantly changed the way health care facilities and healthcare providers operate. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, also known as HIPAA, along with privacy, security, and breach notification rules protect the privacy and security of all health information, including laboratory test results. These rules also provide individuals with certain rights to their specific health information. As someone working in a laboratory setting, you play a critical role in protecting the privacy and security of patient information. This course is designed for laboratory personnel, from administrative assistants, to medical technologists, and everyone on staff that may have access to protected health information. In this course we will review the best practices for maintaining HIPAA compliance, and explore the importance safeguarding various systems that house protected health information.

Autoverification Standards and Requirements

Autoverification is a great process to improve efficiency in the laboratory. Establishing and validating a good autoverification system will increase productivity and consistency in laboratory testing, as well as allow laboratory personnel to shift their focus from manual, repetitive reviewing to primary investigation. This course will cover the requirements for autoverification in the laboratory based on the College of American Pathologists (CAP) standards.

Laboratory Information Systems (LIS): Data Management

A laboratory information system (LIS) plays a key role in many laboratories. It is a software-based platform that can be used to support many different laboratory functions, including workflow, data tracking, architecture, and data exchange interfaces. It is a powerful tool for laboratories to decrease errors in data handling and management, reduce turnaround time from sample preparations to reporting results and thus improve laboratory organization and efficiency. This course will cover the general overview of using a LIS for data management in the laboratory.

Risk Management and Mitigation in the Clinical Laboratory

Although risk management techniques and standards have traditionally been fashioned towards manufacturers, new guidelines are shifting to include risk management principles to the clinical laboratory. Risk management is the systematic application of management policies, procedures, and practices to the tasks of analyzing, evaluating, controlling, and monitoring risk.

Application of risk management and mitigation measures the frequency and character of quality control testing, applicable training, and accreditation to a recognized standard. In this course the information regarding processes that could affect the quality of data, and therefore the patient care. The analytical process is an integral part of the overall quality system. Its contribution is significant but the laboratory should mainly focus on the overall system, which will be gone over throughout this course.

Requisitions Requirements

Requisitions are important documents used in clinical laboratories for the purpose of indicating specific testing on patient samples and specimens. These official documents are needed because some states require licensed officials to authorize laboratory testing on patient samples and specimens. Due to their significance and prominence in the medical field, the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, or CLIA, has a number of requirements in regard to the information required on the requisitions. There are also official laws on the storage and retention of these documents. This course will cover the CLIA requirements for requisitions in the laboratory.

Manually Entered Results (Labs without LIS)

Manual entry of results can lead to a high frequency of errors if precautions are not taken. One study conducted in a POC lab found 3.7% of glucose results were entered incorrectly, and some of those errors could have led to patient harm if not caught.

In this course, we will cover CLIA regulations regarding post analytic systems, common ways errors occur, and possible strategies for preventing errors in reporting test results. CLIA states that a laboratory must have a manual or electronic system that ensures accurate reporting of test results and other patient data, and it gives standards for what must be included in reporting CLIA also specifies that each laboratory must document and follow procedures for assessing the quality of the system for reporting test results.