Collection Resources

ANSP, Information for Health Professionals

The Alberta Newborn Screening Program (ANSP), formerly known as Newborn Metabolic Screening (NMS) Program, collection resources support blood spot collection staff (such as public health nursing services, postpartum, neonatal intensive care units (NICU), FN communities, midwives and Alberta Precision Laboratories [APL]) across Alberta to provide quality service delivery along the newborn blood spot screening pathway.

Together the ANSP clinical policy suite, staff education, and tools and forms help collectors to learn about and provide blood spot screening to infants. These resources cover talking with parents, collecting blood spots, filling out blood spot cards, transporting blood spot cards, following up on infants, NICU specific information and special situations (such as parent refusal, finding the family, resolving alerts and using physician codes and collection location codes). This content can be accessed as PDFs below and staff education is also available as interactive web sessions through MyLearningLink (search for ANSP).

Clinical Policy | Staff Education | Tools & Forms | Order Resources

Clinical Policy

• Newborn Blood Spot Screening
• Newborn Blood Spot Screening Sample Collection
• Newborn Blood Spot Screening Follow-Up
• Newborn Blood Spot Screening Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Staff Education

1. Overview of ANSP
   • Overview of the Alberta Newborn Screening Program summary
   • Walking Along the Newborn Blood Spot Screening Pathway essentials
   • Enhancing ANSP essentials
   • Getting it Right Every Time essentials
   • Overview of the Alberta Newborn Screening Program show what you know
2. Talking with Parents
   • Talking with Parents summary
   • Using the Parent Information Sheets essentials
   • Special Situations when Talking with Parents essentials
   • Parent Refusal essentials
   • Talking with Parents show what you know
3. Collecting
   • Collecting summary
   • Filling Out the Blood Spot Card essentials
   • Collecting the Blood Spots essentials
   • Getting Great Blood Spots essentials
   • Drying & Transportation essentials
   • Special Situations when Collecting essentials
   • NICU essentials
   • Collecting show what you know
4. Following Up
   • Following Up summary
   • Finding the Family essentials
   • Following Up on Infants essentials
   • Special Situations when Following Up essentials
   • Following Up show what you know

Tools & Forms

Talking

• Why does my baby need to be screened?
• Additional Information for Parents
• Parent Refusal of Newborn blood Spot Screening
  • Parent Refusal essentials
  • For completing refusals in Connect Care refer to the Consent Navigator Tip Sheet (Connect Care Consent Navigator Tip Sheet – available to AHS staff on Insite)
  • For completing refusals on paper use the Refusal for Newborn Blood Spot Screen Form
• Special Situations when Talking with Parents
  • Removal of Personal Information from the Alberta Newborn Screening Program (ANSP) Application form
  • Return of the blood spot card:
    Blood spot cards can be returned to parents after all testing the infant needs is completed and the newborn blood spot screen results are reported. Physicians and midwives can make this request on behalf of the parent by calling Alberta Newborn Screening Lab at 780-407-1698.

Collection

• Newborn Blood Spot Screening Collection Location Codes
• Newborn Blood Spot Screening Physician Codes: PDF | Excel

Follow-up

• ANSP Types of Alerts
• ANSP Distribution of Alerts Map
• Alert Action Form (AAF) Overview
• Resolving Missing Screen Event (MSE) Algorithm
• Resolving Invalid Data Alert (IDA) Algorithm
• Invalid Data Alert/Missing Screen Event (IDA/MSE) Investigation Tool
• Finding the Family
  • ANSP Sample Letter for Contacting Parents

Order Resources
Login to the ANSP resource page using this user ID, newbornpublic and this password NMS2013. Healthcare providers can order the following ANSP resources online. View detailed instructions on how to order ANSP resources.

• Blood Spot Card
• Blood Spot Card Transportation Envelopes
• Parent Information Sheets:
  • Why Does my Baby Need to be Screened?
  • Additional Information for Parents