Labs

The know error® system brings a new level of process control to laboratory medicine

Pathology laboratories play a critical role in the highly complex process of evaluating biopsies.  Not only do the laboratories accession, process, and prepare the biopsy tissue samples, but it is during this stage of the evaluation process that a patient's diagnosis is ultimately determined.  However, a pathologist's role in the process can only be as good as the samples received,  and in some cases, labs receive samples at a point in the process where Specimen Provenance Errors (SPE)About Specimen Provenance Errors (SPE)
SPE encompasses a wide spectrum of error conditions including specimen transposition, foreign cell contamination, and patient misidentification that occur in clinical or anatomical pathology. Occult SPE can lead to serious diagnostic mistakes and adverse patient outcomes. may have already occurred.  Whether a sample has been misidentified at the time of collection (outside the lab) or contaminated during sample preparation (inside the lab), it is possible to make diagnostic mistakes due to SPE.

Launched in the spring of 2009, the know error® system for prostate biopsies represents an important innovation in the process of evaluating biopsies, providing laboratories with an added measure of patient safety and diagnostic accuracy.  Through the use of bar code technology and forensic DNA testing, the system virtually eliminates the possibility that SPE will result in an adverse patient outcome.

Find out more about the know error® system, how DNA confirmation works, and why it is an important part of the biopsy evaluation process by clicking on one of the following links:

• Why It's Necessary
• How It Works
• Frequently Asked Questions

If you would like more information about the know error® system, click here to contact us.