If you’re serious about improving lab safety in 2026, the new year isn’t about shiny resolutions or rewrites to policies that no one reads. It’s about focus, prioritization, and solutions that actually work in the real world of specimen backlogs, staffing shortages, and alarms that never seem to...
Biological spills, from blood or bodily fluids to infectious agents, are an inevitable reality in medical laboratories. Many spills can be safely managed through standard precautions and standard operating procedures. Others pose a significant risk to staff, patients, and the environment....
Most hospital labs are focused on schedules to check equipment calibration, yet staff behavior patterns at shift changes are what create the riskiest compliance gaps, according to Stephen Huber, president of Home Care Providers, based in Orange County, California. Huber oversees healthcare...
A new year offers an opportunity for hospital lab leaders to reevaluate their compliance posture, close persistent gaps, and strengthen systems that support safety, accreditation readiness, and regulatory performance.
Environmental disinfection is a key component of a safe and effective laboratory. Disinfection protects researchers and public health, prevents contamination and cross-contamination of experiments, and keeps laboratories in compliance with safety and regulatory requirements.
This is Part 2 of our interview with Jason P. Nagy, PhD, MLS(ASCP), QLS, and Dan Scungio, MT(ASCP), SLS, on including just culture elements in your lab safety culture. Nagy is a laboratory safety support coordinator and Scungio is a laboratory safety officer for the...
In this guest column, Dan Scungio, MT(ASCP), SLS, laboratory safety officer for multihospital system Sentara Healthcare in Virginia, and otherwise known as “Dan, the Lab Safety Man,” discusses the important issues that affect your job every day. Today he talks about how to handle laboratory...
Specimen labeling may seem like a routine task, but a single mislabeled tube can delay diagnosis, trigger incorrect treatment, or compromise trust in the entire laboratory process.
Hospital laboratory safety and compliance leaders continue to face increasing scrutiny from accrediting bodies and regulators. Between maintaining specimen integrity, protecting data systems, and ensuring personal protective equipment (PPE) meets minimum standards, lab managers must balance...
Fragmented data. Unclear accountability. Underreporting. These are common challenges that workplace violence (WPV) prevention programs must address to keep up with Joint Commission and OSHA expectations.
