How to Design a Phlebotomy Room

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Things You'll Need

  • Comfortable phlebotomy chairs

  • Sink

  • Hand sanitizer

  • Work tables

  • Rolling stools

  • Sharps containers

  • Latex and latex-free gloves in sizes S, M and L

  • Test tube racks

  • Marking pens

  • Tourniquets

  • Pediatric blood collection tubes in all colors: gray, red, speckled, lavender, blue, dark blue, pink, green, and gray

  • Adult blood collection tubes in all colors: gray, red, speckled, lavender, blue, dark blue, pink, green, and gray

  • Lancets

  • Needles, 20 gauge

  • Needles, 21 gauge

  • Needles, 22 gauge

  • Needles, butterfly

  • Syringes

  • Alcohol pads

  • Iodine

  • Gauze

  • Sterile tape

  • Paper tape

  • Storage cabinet

  • Blood culture bottles

  • Filter paper

  • Bleach and water combination

  • Blood pressure cuffs

  • Stethoscopes

  • Stopwatches

  • Chain-of-evidence forms

  • Refrigerators/freezers

  • Icepacks

  • Orange and apple juice

  • Cookies

A well-designed phlebotomy room is a necessity for any medical center. People are in a phlebotomy room to have their blood drawn, so it needs to be a place that inspires a patient to be trusting and relaxed as well as a place that holds all the necessary tools for the phlebotomist. Safety is also a key consideration in designing this sort of room. The room needs to be a combination of comfort and function. A little bit of planning will go a long way towards making your phlebotomy room efficient and comfortable.

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How to Design a Phlebotomy Room

Step 1

Choose a room that is large enough, and place the necessary number of phlebotomy chairs far enough away from each other to assure easy access to all sides of the chair. Place a worktable next to each chair. There should also be at least one sink in the room and hand sanitizer placed in obvious locations.

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Step 2

Place one rolling stool for each phlebotomy chair in the room. Be sure to place a Sharps container at each chair, either wall mounted or on the worktable. Add a box of gloves in each size to the table as well as a test tube rack and marking pens.

Step 3

Stock each worktable with tourniquets, pediatric and adult blood collection tubes, lancets, needles of all sizes, syringes, alcohol pads, iodine, gauze, and both sterile and paper tape.

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Step 4

Be sure that the storage cabinet is stocked with blood culture bottles, filter paper, a spray bottle with a bleach and water solution, blood pressure cuffs, stethoscopes, stopwatches and chain of evidence forms.

Step 5

The room should contain a refrigerator for specimens and one for refreshments. The room should have a freezer that holds a few icepacks that can be used in case a patient feels faint or if they bruise. The refreshment fridge should be stocked with orange and apple juice. There should also be cookies on hand.

Tip

Never keep needles out in the open. That only serves to upset patients and is a danger as well. Adding some relaxing landscape pictures to the walls can help make it a more pleasant space. Avoid using any type of air freshener or perfume in the room because some people are allergic to scents.
Add a television if space permits to allow patients a diversion. Keep in mind that no matter how nice your phlebotomy room is you may still have unhappy patients.

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