The technician in the laboratory has received a specimen that is rejected. The technician calls the physician and tells the physician the specimen is unacceptable and the reason why. The physician insists that the culture needs to be performed on this unacceptable culture. What should the technician do?
A) Have the laboratory manager call the physician and tell him that a new specimen needs to be resubmitted because the laboratory will not perform a culture on this specimen.
B) Throw the specimen away and request a new one from the physician.
C) Plate the culture, but include a comment explaining the potentially compromised test results.
D) Discard both the specimen and the requisition, and pretend that the specimen was never received in the laboratory.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The technician should plate the culture as requested by the physician, but also include a comment explaining that the specimen was unacceptable and the test results may be compromised. It is important to perform the requested test, but also inform the physician of any potential issues with the specimen. A new specimen could also be requested if the physician agrees. It would be inappropriate to throw the specimen away without authorization, lie about receiving the specimen, or have the laboratory manager handle the situation without attempting to address it first.

The Technician in the Laboratory Has Received a Specimen That