Many hospital-based or clinic-based laboratories rely upon specimen transport using a pneumatic tube system or robotic delivery. While these modes of delivery are becoming more reliable, ample testing and validation must occur to ensure that the complete menu of offered tests are not affected by the delivery system. It is recommended to test each pneumatic tube station, as not only time and temperature may come into play, but also turbulence and impact of vessel arrival. Laboratories should develop validation protocols in which paired samples - one sent by pneumatic tube and one hand-delivered - are tested for multiple analytes.
