Communication with and notification of appropriate staff, committees, clinicians, and other stakeholders must be:
- Timely
- Educational
- Clear and concise
Notification should include:
- The change to be made, the importance of the change, and
- Any possible implications the change might have on all the stakeholders (if made, or if not made).
General Notes
- Some changes in taxonomy/nomenclature are minor, while others have the potential to be harmful to patient care. (Recall the inspection requirement about susceptibility reporting, mentioned in a previous topic section.)
- Temporarily reporting the old and the new names together is one way to alleviate potential problems. This process may remain in place for a couple of years until all stakeholders are educated and comfortable using the new terminology.
- Remember, documentation of verification/validation processes, as well as documentation that stakeholders were notified, must be retained in the laboratory.
Example notification strategies and possible implications are presented on the next few pages.
