Rejection Criteria

Rejection criteria are established to ensure the quality of test reporting. All specimens submitted to Holy Cross Hospital or Holy Cross Germantown Hospital must be properly collected, labeled, processed, and transported. Common causes for specimen rejection include:

• Specimen is unlabeled or labeled incorrectly.
• Specimen is collected in an inappropriate container.
• Specimen is submitted without pertinent patient information.
• Specimen container is leaking.
• Missing Nurse Collect Slips for specimens ordered and collected as Nurse Collect.
• Insufficient specimen volume to perform the laboratory test ordered. (Often referred as QNS - “Quantity Not Sufficient”)
• Specimen missing collector ID and/or collection date and time.
• Check the specific test information for source or test specific rejection criteria.