The PHN on a requisition does not match the specimen on a PT test order. This is an example of what type of error?

A discrepancy between the Personal Health Number (PHN) on a requisition and the specimen associated with a patient test order is indicative of a pre-examination error.

Pre-examination errors typically occur during the initial stages of the testing process, which include aspects such as sample collection, labeling, and requisition management. In this case, the mismatch signifies that there may have been an issue when the specimen was collected or when the requisition was completed — either the wrong label was placed on the specimen or the requisition was filled out incorrectly.

Addressing pre-examination errors is crucial, as they can lead to incorrect patient identification and subsequent misinterpretation of results, impacting patient care.