What should be the first step in the process of drawing blood from a patient?

The first step in the process of drawing blood from a patient must be identifying the patient. This is a critical step to ensure patient safety and accurate medical records. Proper identification helps prevent errors such as drawing blood from the wrong patient, which could lead to significant medical consequences.

During this step, the phlebotomist should ask the patient to state their name and possibly their date of birth or other identifying information, and then compare this information with their medical records and the laboratory requisition form. This procedure not only safeguards the patient’s health but also ensures that the test results correspond correctly to the individual being tested, maintaining the integrity of the laboratory process.

After confirming the patient’s identity, the phlebotomist can then proceed to prepare the equipment, apply the tourniquet, and clean the venipuncture site, each of which is also essential to the blood collection process, but none of these steps should occur before proper identification.