SPECIMEN COLLECTION / INFORMATION
Requisition forms
WESTERN STATES REGIONAL ORAL & MAXILLOFACIAL PATHOLOGY LABORATORY’S surgical requisition forms can be downloaded and printed as hard copies as required. Submitting health care providers should include their patient’s name, address, date of birth, date of the biopsy, pertinent clinical information and pre- and/or postoperative diagnosis or differential diagnosis. Please make sure that your patient signs and dates the reverse side of the pathology request form, Consent for Microscopic Tissue Evaluation. Please fill out the request form as completely as possible. If critical patient or specimen information is missing, we are required as part of our National CLIA licensure to call the submitting office for that information before the biopsy specimen can be processed.
Labeling, Packaging and Handling
Specimens should be placed in a sealed specimen bottle that has a label. The label must contain the patient's name, anatomic site of the biopsy, and the date of collection. Formalin hazmat warning labels are required to be on the bottle. Specimen containers can be obtained by calling the WESTERN STATES PATHOLOGY office (303-577-2309) or by emailing Kathy at kwoodley@westernstatespath.com. The biopsy bottle should be placed in the container in a PADDED envelope for mailing. Postage varies for different sized envelopes, therefore, please check with your post office for the correct postage. We have found FED EX and UPS to be the safest express mail carriers for the delivery and current tracking of specimens. If mailing through the USPS it should be taken to the Post Office and mailed from there. Multiple biopsies from different sites must be placed in separate containers and an appropriate method for specimen identification should be utilized (specimen suture tags are most often used).