The normal hematocrit (Hct) for a newborn is within the range of The normal hematocrit value varies according to gender and age:

If the phlebotomist tells a friend about doing a venipuncture for a famous actor who is hospitalized, this constitutes a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) violation. No protected health information, including the fact that the person was hospitalized or having tests, can be divulged without written authorization. In fact, this information must not be shared with coworkers either unless they are involved in the patient's care and have a need to know.

The greatest risk when a tube breaks during centrifugation is aerosolization of the specimen because the spinning specimen breaks down into droplets, which can be easily inhaled or can land on exposed skin, increasing risk of infection. Aerosolization can also occur if collection tubes are overfilled or if the caps come off during processing. Additionally, care must be used if removing a cap after centrifugation. Buckets, tubes, and rotors should be carefully spaced and balanced before centrifugation.

Trough levels are collected when the serum concentration of the drug is at its lowest level, usually just prior to administration of the next dose. Peak levels are collected when the serum concentration is highest, usually 30-60 minutes after drug administration. If the peak level is above the toxic threshold, the dose is toxic and must be decreased. The therapeutic window is the range of blood concentrations of the drug between the minimum effective concentration and the toxic concentration.

According to the order of draw, the blood culture bottle should be filled first to ensure that the specimen remains sterile with no contamination. This is followed by the light-blue-capped tube (which contains a citrate additive). Next is the red and black-capped tube (which may or may not contain a clot activator or gel plasma separator) and last the green-capped tube (which contains heparin).