SPECIMEN LABELING
Thank you for your careful attention to ensuring appropriate submission of patient specimens. Correct specimen collection and labeling is essential to ensure patient safety and optimize tissue interpretation. Specimen containers and the accompanying surgical pathology requisition must be completed as follows:
Specimen Container:
Patient name, date of birth or medical record number, and identity/site of the tissue. An EMR generated demographic label is strongly recommended.
Multiple specimens from the same operative procedure are designated as letters “A”, “B”, etc and corresponds to the specimens recorded on the surgical pathology requisition (see example below).
*Unlabeled or unidentified specimens cannot be processed until properly labeled by a physician or their designee.
Surgical Pathology Requisition:
Patient name, date of birth or medical record number, age and sex. An EMR generated demographic label is strongly recommended.
Date and time of collection.
Requesting physician's name and service/practice
Pertinent clinical history (including prior biopsy results, surgeries, diagnoses and therapies) and the suspected diagnosis/differential diagnosis.
Special requests for the pathologist including photos, special stains, ancillary studies, and consultation.
Names of physicians, other than the submitting physician, who should receive copies of the report.
Multiple specimens from the same operative procedure are designated as letters "A", "B":, etc. that matches the tissue type/site of the labeling on the specimen containers. Each specimen must be listed with a precise description of the anatomic site (i.e. sigmoid colon, right ventral forearm).
