Don’t wake patients at night for phlebotomy for testing deemed safe by clinical teams to proceed in the morning.

Impaired sleep is associated with increased patient discomfort and harm. The laboratory may contribute to sleep disturbances by waking patients for phlebotomy. Research in several institutions shows that scheduling changes, or actions to reduce inappropriate testing, can positively impact the issue of impaired sleep. Medical laboratory professionals should collaborate with clinical colleagues to redesign workflow or implement other measures to promote sleep.

Sources:

Grossman MN, Anderson SL, Worku A, Marsack W, Desai N, Tuvilleja A, et al. Awakenings? Patient and hospital staff perceptions of nighttime disruptions and their effect on patient sleep. J Clin Sleep Med. 2017;13(2):301–306. PMID: 27923432.

Morse AM, Bender E. Sleep in Hospitalized Patients. Clocks & Sleep. 2019; 1(1):151-165. https://doi.org/10.3390/clockssleep1010014. PMID: 33089161.

Ramarajan V, Chima HS, Young L. Implementation of later morning specimen draws to improve patient health and satisfaction. Lab Med 2016;47(1):e1-4. https://doi.org/10.1093/labmed/lmv013. PMID: 26656891.

Ramazani SN, Gottfried JA, Kaissi M, Lynn J, Leonard MS, Schriefer J, et al. Improving the timing of laboratory studies in hospitalized children: a quality improvement study. Hosp Pediatr July 2021; 11 (7): 670–8. PMID: 34158310.

Tapaskar N, Kilaru M, Puri TS, Martin SK, Edstrom E, Leung E, et al. Evaluation of the order SMARTT: An initiative to reduce phlebotomy and improve sleep-friendly labs on general medicine services. J Hosp Med. 2020 Aug;15(8):479-482. doi: 10.12788/jhm.3423. PMID: 32804609.