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Third
Party Billing - If you elect to have NorDx third-party bill
for services, please include the following necessary billing
information:
•
Patient and guarantor name, complete address (including
zip code)
•
Guarantor's relationship to patient
•
Home and work telephone numbers
•
Patient sex
•
Patient date of birth
•
Complete name of referring physician with UPIN number
•
Certificate number, policy number, Medicare number
•
Group number (if applicable)
•
Name of policy holder
•
Address of insurance company
•
Diagnosis (ICD9 code) or reason test was ordered, and
any other information from the patient
To
ensure accurate and timely claims adjudication through the
insurance carrier, NorDx needs the above information within
10 business days from
the date of service or the account may be client billed.
Specimen Identification Requirements
Policy Statement - In order to assure positive identification and optimum integrity of patient specimens, NorDx requires that the following labeling guidelines be followed. Specimens that do not meet these guidelines will be rejected and will not be accepted by the laboratory for testing.
Exception - If a specimen does not conform to guidelines and is a unique, irretrievable, or difficult to obtain, such as CSF, surgical specimen, aspirated body fluid, or biopsy, NorDx Client Support will contact the client to obtain written acknowledgement of the inadequate specimen labeling prior to testing the specimen. The final written report will include the acknowledgement of the specimen condition.
Minimum Label Requirements:
- The minimum label requirements for all specimens, excluding Blood Bank, accepted for testing is full first and last name.
- The source of a specimen is required on the collection container or requisition of all specimens except blood, urine and stool.
- In the case of multiple specimens on the same patient, the label must include the source of the specimen.
- If the date/time of the specimen is relevant to the interpretation of the test result it must be included on the specimen label.
Examples: GTT, cortisol, multiple stool specimens, peak/trough drug levels.
- The source of a specimen is required on the secondary, transport, transfer, or aliquot container of all specimens except serum.
Recommended Label Requirements (see Blood Bank Label Requirements below)
It is recommended that a specimen label include:
- Date and time of collection
- Initials of the person performing phlebotomy
- A second patient identifier such as date of birth or unique number
- Physician's name on Anatomic Pathology specimens
Blood Bank Label Requirements
Blood Bank specimen labels require that the following information be accurate and identical on the specimen, requisition and blood bank history:
- Last name, first name (use legal name - no nick names/shortened names)
- DOB or medical record number
- Phlebotomist's initials
- Specimen date
The specimen label MUST be completed prior to leaving the side of the patient. After leaving the patient, NO CHANGES MAY BE MADE to the specimen label. If the information is not accurate or incomplete, a new specimen MUST be collected. Contact Blood Bank directly (207-871-2121) with any questions.
Procedure to Obtain Or Correct Specimen Information
Clarification is required for the following specimens:
- Questionable source
- Last name, first initial
- Last name, nickname
- Minor spelling errors
- Any discrepancy in specimen identification between the requisition and specimen label
A specimen is stabilized and held until required information is obtained or a specimen is tested and results not released until information is obtained (see Blood Bank Label Requirements).
Non MIS patient:
- The CSA process is used to obtain or correct information on specimens eligible for testing. Except for Blood Bank specimens (see Blood Bank Label Requirements), NorDx will accept a signed letter of responsibility from an authorized ordering provider or the person who obtained the specimen to proceed with testing.
- A NorDx Investigation/Action Form is completed for Anatomic Pathology specimens.
MIS patients: Specimen Management at MMC campus or BMC staff are responsible for obtaining required information from the originating location of specimens eligible for testing.
Examples:
- If a specimen label includes a nickname or a misspelling such as two letters transposed or an incorrect letter, Specimen Management may verify the identity using patient specific demographic information in SCC (except Blood Bank specimens). For testing purposes, the SCC label is used for identification of the specimen.
- A CSA is ordered if a misspelling changes the patient PID and/or created a new stay.
- A CSA is ordered if a specimen is labeled with an initial in place of a full first name and the requisition lists a first name.
- A CSA is ordered if the source of a specimen is not listed on the label or requisition as required (see Minimum Label Requirements).
Specimen Rejection Policy
- An unlabeled specimen or a specimen with the incorrect patient name is rejected and is not submitted for testing. If a specimen does not conform to the minimum label requirements and is unique, irretrievable, or difficult to obtain, such as CSF, surgical specimen, aspirated body fluid, or biopsy, consult the person in charge of the testing section or pathologist for instructions in proceeding.
- A rejected specimen is stabilized and held for 5 days. Blood Bank specimens may not leave the Blood Bank once received.
- Non MIS patient: Order and complete appropriate fields of a CSA to notify Client Support of the rejection.
- MIS patients: Notify the originating location of the specimen of the rejection. Document the rejection on a Specimen Rejection Form in Specimen Management, MMC campus and Brighton Campus.
It is the responsibility of the person authorizing the testing of an unlabeled specimen or specimen labeled with an incorrect name to include acknowledgement of such conditions in the final written report.
Cancellation
of Tests
Cancellations
received prior to test setup will be honored at no charge.
Requests received following test setup cannot be honored.
A report will be issued automatically and charged appropriately.
Research
Study Participation Inquiries
NorDx
has available specific resources and capabilities for research
studies. Contact NorDx Client Support for further information.
Confidentiality
of Results
NorDx
endeavors to maintain the confidentiality of all patient information.
To ensure the appropriate release of patient results in response
to a telephone inquiry, one of the following may be required:
•
Requisition number
•
NorDx accession ID number for specimen
•
Client account mnemonic from NorDx
We
appreciate your assistance in helping NorDx preserve patient
confidentiality. The provision of appropriate identifiers
will greatly assist in a prompt and accurate response to result
inquiries.
Medicolegal
Testing
NorDx
through MMLNE has available a chain-of-custody. Appropriate
forms, boxes, and instructions can be obtained on request.
Medicolegal specimens must be accompanied by the forms supplied
by NorDx.
Radioactive
Specimens
Specimens
from patients receiving radioactive tracers or material should
be labeled as such. Specimens are not routinely tested at
NorDx for background radioactivity. This radioactivity may
invalidate the results of radioimmunoassays.
Rejected
Specimens - Parasitology
•
Multiple same-day specimens (one specimen will be processed)
•
Pinworm exam submitted on frosted tape
•
"Qualified" Specimens (qualified specimens are not credited):
-
Unpreserved stool for ova and parasite exam
-
The polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) vial was overfilled (beyond
the top of the label) with specimen
-
The specimen in PVA was not adequately emulsified
-
A stool specimen was submitted for pinworm exam
Repeat
Testing
Occasionally,
test results do not "fit the clinical picture" of the patient.
Under these circumstances, the test will be repeated at no
charge. Routinely completed specimens are retained for at
least one week which allows additional test requests or repeat
testing when necessary. Please contact NorDx Client Support
to request a repeat test or an additional request.
Supplies
Mailing
cartons, specimen vials, special specimen collection containers
and kits, sterile vials, stool containers, and request forms
are supplied without charge for specimens sent to NorDx for
testing.
Test
Turnaround Time
Our test
catalog lists the days on which the test is set up and the
analytical time as a guide to expected turnaround times. Repeated
tests may take additional time.
Unacceptable
Specimens
Some
specimens cannot be analyzed because of improper collection
or degradation in transit. Other specimens may have prolonged
turnaround times because of lack of necessary ancillary specimens
or patient information.
You
will be notified of rejected or problem specimens upon receipt.
To avoid specimen rejection, please use the following checklist.
Are
the following conditions correct? Please check the test catalog.
•
Full 24 hours for timed urine collection
•
Lack of hemolysis or lipemia
•
Patient information requested
•
Patient/specimen properly identified
•
pH of urine
•
Specimen container (sterile, metal-free, separation gel,
etc.)
•
Specimen type (serum, whole blood, plasma, etc.)
•
Specimen source (tissue or fluid type)
•
Specimen volume
•
Temperature (ambient, refrigerated, frozen)
•
Transport medium including fixatives
Unlisted
Tests
New
procedures are developed throughout the year; therefore, our
electronic test catalog will have the most up-to-date
information.
Unsatisfactory
Analytic Results
If
NorDx is unable to obtain a satisfactory analytic result,
there is no charge.
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