> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.clinikehr.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Collect a specimen and complete the CCF

> Walk a donor through the five-step custody and control form, record temperature, volumes and seals, and ship the specimen to the lab.

export const StillStuck = ({topic}) => <div className="ck-callout ck-callout--note" role="note">
    <p className="ck-callout__body">
      <strong>Still stuck{topic ? ` with ${topic}` : ''}?</strong>{' '}
      Check <a href="/platform/help/troubleshooting">Troubleshooting</a> first —
      it covers the failures we see most often. If that does not resolve it,{' '}
      <a href="/platform/help/contact-support">contact support</a> and include
      your workspace name and the time the problem happened, so we can find the
      matching entry in your audit log.
    </p>
  </div>;

export const TaskHeader = ({before, time, after}) => <div className="ck-task">
    {before ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Before you start</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{before}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {time ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Takes about</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{time}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {after ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">When you're done</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{after}</p>
      </div> : null}
  </div>;

export const Path = ({steps = []}) => <span className="ck-path">
    {steps.map((s, i) => <span key={i} className="ck-path__step">
        {i > 0 ? <span className="ck-path__sep" aria-hidden="true">
            ›
          </span> : null}
        {s}
      </span>)}
  </span>;

export const Availability = ({editions = ['all'], plans, roles, note}) => {
  const list = editions.includes('all') ? ['clinic', 'pharmacy', 'lims'] : editions;
  return <div className="ck-avail" role="note" aria-label="Feature availability">
      <span className="ck-avail__label">Available in</span>

      {list.map(e => <span key={e} className={`ck-pill ck-pill--${e}`}>
          {EDITION_LABELS[e] || e}
        </span>)}

      {plans ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Plan</span> : null}
      {plans ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--plan">{plans}</span> : null}

      {roles ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Who</span> : null}
      {roles ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--role">{roles}</span> : null}

      {note ? <span className="ck-avail__note">{note}</span> : null}
    </div>;
};

<Availability editions={['lims']} plans="All plans" roles="Collectors at a full lab or a collection centre. Not available in Reference Lab or Standard Clinical Lab mode." />

Collection is where the custody chain starts. You complete the federal custody and control form with the donor in front of you, take the specimen, read its temperature, seal both bottles in the donor's sight, and dispatch it. Everything downstream — the screen, the confirmation, the MRO's verified result — rests on this half-hour being done properly.

<Path steps={['Sidebar', 'DOT Testing']} />

<TaskHeader before="A DOT order raised for the donor, the donor present with photo ID, and collection supplies to hand" time="15–20 minutes with the donor" after="A completed CCF, a sealed and labelled specimen, and an order marked in transit" />

<Note>
  These screens exist only in **DOT / SAMHSA — Full Workflow** and **Both — Standard + DOT Full Workflow**. A lab running **Reference Lab — Intake to Report Only** has no collection module at all, by design — see [Reference lab mode](/lims/dot/lab-intake-mode).
</Note>

## Complete the custody and control form

Open the order from the queue. The CCF is a five-step wizard, and the steps run in the order the federal form does:

| Step                          | What it captures                          |
| ----------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| **1 Employer & Donor Info**   | Who is being tested and who ordered it    |
| **2 Test Type Verification**  | Agency, test reason and the panel         |
| **3 Collection Information**  | Site, collector and the collection itself |
| **4 Collector Certification** | Your attestation                          |
| **5 Donor Certification**     | The donor's attestation                   |

<Steps>
  <Step title="Confirm employer and donor">
    Step **1 Employer & Donor Info** carries the employer's details and the donor's identity forward from the order. Check them against the donor's photo ID before you go on — a mismatch found here is an inconvenience, and one found at MRO review is a cancelled test.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify the test type">
    Step **2 Test Type Verification** confirms which agency the test falls under and why it is being run. The donor is entitled to know both.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Record the collection">
    Step **3 Collection Information** captures the collection site, the collector and the circumstances. Your signature belongs here — a missing collector signature at Step 3 is one of the flaws that lets an MRO cancel the test outright.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Certify as the collector">
    Step **4 Collector Certification** is your attestation: "I certify that this collection was performed in accordance with all applicable Federal requirements…". Do not sign it for a collection you did not personally perform.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Read the donor certification to the donor">
    Step **5 Donor Certification** quotes the statement the donor is agreeing to: "I certify that I provided my specimen to the collector; that I have not adulterated it in any manner; that each specimen bottle used was sealed with a tamper-evident seal in my presence…". Tick **Donor has read and acknowledged the above statement** only once they have. Without it the wizard refuses to finish with **Donor must acknowledge before completing CCF**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Finish the form">
    Completing step 5 gives **CCF complete — order advanced to Collected**, and the order moves on in the queue.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Step 5 is a federal attestation by the donor, not a formality you tick to clear the screen. The donor must see each bottle sealed with a tamper-evident seal before they acknowledge it. Ticking it on their behalf, or after they have left, makes the specimen indefensible and the test cancellable.
</Warning>

## Record the collection itself

The **Specimen Collection** form is where the physical detail goes.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Enter the collection time">
    **Collection Date & Time \*** is the moment the donor handed the specimen over, not the moment you reached the keyboard. Every elapsed time on the chain of custody is measured from it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Read and record the temperature">
    **Temperature Reading (°F) \*** must be taken within four minutes of collection. A reading outside the acceptable band raises a **Temperature Out of Range** alert — that is a finding to act on with the donor present, not a validation message to dismiss.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Record the volumes">
    The **Specimen Volumes** block takes Bottle A, Bottle B and the **Total Volume**. Undocumented volume is a correctable flaw an MRO will come back to you about, so fill all three.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Describe the specimen">
    **Specimen Condition** records anything unusual about what you received — colour, sediment, odour, foreign matter.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Record a directly observed collection">
    If the collection was observed, complete **Direct Observation** with the observer's name and gender. The observer must be of the same gender as the donor, and the reason for observation belongs in the record.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm the seals">
    **Seal Confirmation** records that both bottles were sealed, initialled and dated in the donor's presence. This is the entry the accessioning clerk will check the physical seals against.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Ship the specimen">
    Choose a shipping carrier, enter the **Airway Bill / Tracking Number** and the shipped date, then mark it shipped. The toast reads **Specimen marked as in transit**. Trying to ship without a carrier is refused with **Select a shipping carrier before marking as shipped**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Drawing down your collection supplies

Each collection consumes cups, seals, bottles and forms, and you can have ClinikEHR account for them automatically. The **Collection supplies** sheet — "Configure the inventory supplies one specimen collection consumes" — links the consumables to the collection event, so your stock falls as you work rather than as someone remembers to count. See [Reagents and consumables](/lims/inventory/reagents).

## If you work at a collection centre

A site registered as a collection centre carries a banner reading **This site is a collection center — register specimens and dispatch them to your laboratory. Accessioning, screening and reporting are done at the full lab and are disabled here.**

That is correct behaviour, not a permissions problem. A collection centre draws and dispatches; the full lab receives, screens, confirms and reports.

## Check it worked

* The order has advanced to **Collected**, and then to in transit once you marked it shipped.
* The **Chain of Custody** tab shows **CCF Completed**, **Specimen Collected** and **Specimen Shipped** events under **Specimen Intake**, each with your name and a **Seal Intact** pill.
* The tracking number on the order matches the airway bill in your hand.

## If something goes wrong

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="The wizard will not let me finish">
    Step 5 needs **Donor has read and acknowledged the above statement** ticked. The guard reads **Donor must acknowledge before completing CCF** and there is no way past it, deliberately.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The temperature was out of range">
    Treat it as a possible substitution while the donor is still with you. Follow your own site's directly observed recollection procedure, record what happened in **Specimen Condition**, and complete **Direct Observation** on the recollection. Do not simply re-read the strip until it agrees with you.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I cannot mark the specimen as shipped">
    A carrier is required — the guard reads **Select a shipping carrier before marking as shipped**. Choose the carrier, add the **Airway Bill / Tracking Number**, then try again.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A seal broke while I was packing">
    Do not ship it. Seal a fresh collection under a new CCF and record what happened. A specimen whose seal cannot be vouched for is rejected at accessioning anyway — see [Accession an incoming specimen](/lims/lab/accessioning).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="There is no DOT Testing entry in my sidebar">
    Your lab is on **Standard Clinical Lab** mode, or on **Reference Lab — Intake to Report Only** where the entry is renamed **Lab Intake** and collection is hidden. An owner or manager can check under Settings › Lab Workflow — see [DOT and workplace drug testing](/lims/dot).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<StillStuck topic="a collection" />