Our facility has a policy about aliases which are allowed only for the specific reasons you stated. After the patient has been discharged, the alias will be merged with the correct patient information, the Pathology department notified, and an addendum added to the report if it has already been signed out. Slide labels are added to the slide, preferably on the front, but on the back of the slide if the entire slide shows specimen. This way, both names can be referenced. If we are made aware of the change before the case is signed out, a note is still dictated into the report because you still have to explain the discrepancy of the name on the requisition and container. It is very important to communicate with Registration in the case of consultations. You can't have a reference lab bill a Jane Doe, so the merge will need to occur before the specimen is sent out (or at least before you are billed). Hope this helps. We had some similar concerns last year, which now seem to be resolved.
-----Original Message----- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu]On Behalf Of mwh...@mcleodhealth.org Sent: Friday, March 18, 2011 11:19 AM To: Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: [Histonet] patients with alias names Histonetters: We are curious to find out how your facilities handle patients with alias names. At our hospital, patients are somewhat frequently admitted with alias names in order to protect their privacy and/or safety (i.e., gunshot wounds, gang crime, etc.) . Usually their pathology is done without us ever knowing that there was an alias. So, we have slides and blocks that are labeled with an incorrect name along with the case number, etc. If the patient was in our system previously, they use their existing permanent medical record number. Upon discharge from our hospital computer system, these patients' medical records are merged or corrected somehow with the real name , and the name is updated in our pathology LIS and our clinical lab LIS. Occasionally the discharge is timed in such a way that the path report hasn't yet been signed out; therefore the slides, blocks, gross description, etc. all contain an alias name that appears as a discrepancy to the pathologist ( who sees the discharged patient's real name on the header of the typed gross paperwork.) Our pathologists are very uncomfortable with the slides and blocks having the alias name. What if they want to send out these materials to other facilities for consults? We don't get any report that shows a summary of aliases. What are your policies and procedures? Melanie S. White, MT(ASCP) Laboratory Supervisor, Systems/Anatomic Pathology McLeod Regional Medical Center (843) 777-2072 NOTICE: This e-mail message and all attachments transmitted with it may contain legally PRIVILEGED and CONFIDENTIAL information intended solely for the use of the addressee. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any reading, dissemination, distribution, copying, or other use of this message or its attachments is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and/or notify the postmaster (postmas...@mcleodhealth.org), and delete this message and all copies and backups thereof. Thank You. _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE This message and any included attachments are from Somerset Medical Center and are intended only for the addressee. The information contained in this message is confidential and may contain privileged, confidential, proprietary and/or trade secret information entitled to protection and/or exemption from disclosure under applicable law. Unauthorized forwarding, printing, copying, distribution, or use of such information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you are not the addressee, please promptly delete this message and notify the sender of the delivery error by e-mail or you may call Somerset Medical Center's computer Help Desk at 908-685-2200, ext. 4050. Be sure to visit Somerset Medical Center's Web site - www.somersetmedicalcenter.com - for the most up-to-date news, event listings, health information and more.
_______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet