RN Nursing · Infection Control · Practice question
How does a phlebotomist correctly identify a patient?
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Home address
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✓
Full name and date of birth
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Phone number and email address
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Social security number
Answer & explanation
Correct: Full name and date of birth
Correct patient identification is one of the most critical safety steps in phlebotomy and is governed by standards from organizations such as The Joint Commission, CLSI, and facility policy. The accepted method requires using at least two unique patient identifiers. Full name and date of birth are the two universally accepted primary identifiers used to confirm patient identity before any specimen collection. The phlebotomist asks the patient to state their full name and date of birth, then verifies these against the requisition and armband. Home address, phone number, and email address are not reliable clinical identifiers because multiple patients may share the same address or contact details, and these are frequently outdated or incorrect in the medical record. Social security number is considered sensitive personal information and is not routinely used as a clinical identifier for safety checks in most healthcare settings, as it poses privacy concerns and is not standardized in patient wristband protocols. Using full name combined with date of birth provides a straightforward, reliable, and universally standardized two-identifier check that minimizes the risk of a wrong-patient draw.
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