Publications by authors named "P J Howanitz"
Context: Accuracy of blood glucose measurements in the critical value range is important for properly treating patients with severe hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia.
Objective: To evaluate the performance and reliability of point-of-care glucose (POCG) results in the critical value range among multiple facilities.
Design: Q-Probes participants retrospectively collected data from up to 50 POCG results in their critical value range including patient location, type of testing operator, repeat glucose results, and caregiver notification.
Context: The anticoagulant warfarin has been identified as the second most frequent drug responsible for serious, disabling, and fatal adverse drug events in the United States, and its effect on blood coagulation is monitored by the laboratory test called international normalized ratio (INR).
Objective: To determine the presence of INR policies and procedures, INR practices, and completeness and timeliness of reporting critical INR results in participants' clinical laboratories.
Design: Participants reviewed their INR policies and procedure requirements, identified their practices by using a questionnaire, and studied completeness of documentation and timeliness of reporting critical value INR results for outpatients and emergency department patients.
Context: Hemolysis is an important clinical laboratory quality attribute that influences result reliability.
Objective: To determine hemolysis identification and rejection practices occurring in clinical laboratories.
Design: We used the College of American Pathologists Survey program to distribute a Q-Probes-type questionnaire about hemolysis practices to Chemistry Survey participants.
Context: Hemolyzed specimens delay clinical laboratory results, proliferate unnecessary testing, complicate physician decisions, injure patients indirectly, and increase health care costs.
Objective: To determine quality improvement practices when hemolysis occurs.
Design: We used the College of American Pathologists (CAP) Survey Program to distribute a Q-Probes-type questionnaire about hemolysis practices to CAP Chemistry Survey participants.
Context: Many production systems employ standardized statistical monitors that measure defect rates and cycle times, as indices of performance quality. Clinical laboratory testing, a system that produces test results, is amenable to such monitoring.
Objective: To demonstrate patterns in clinical laboratory testing defect rates and cycle time using 7 College of American Pathologists Q-Tracks program monitors.