A study of pre-analytical errors in a public hospital biochemistry laboratory according to their causes and units

The clinical laboratory is an important stakeholder in the patient management process with a direct impact on patient care by providing evidence and data for diagnosis and treatment. Identifying reliable quality indicators in clinical laboratories is an important step in enabling users to measure the quality of laboratory service. Any error in the pre-analytical process affects other processes and jeopardizes patient safety. This study aimed to examine the number of specimen rejections in clinical laboratories, their reasons, and their range according to the departments. The study was a descriptive retrospective study. The population of the study consisted of samples rejected from the Biochemistry Laboratory of a teaching and research hospital in 2021. Data were analyzed using percentage and frequency analysis. The study recommends that practices to minimize errors in the pre-analytical process should be carried out urgently by the management and a training plan for sample collection should established.