​A report released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on December 15, 2016, revealed that most states that report timeliness data for newborn screening for heritable disorders using blood specimens are not meeting timeframe goals recommended in 2015 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children. Not meeting such goals could lead to delays in treatment and harm to newborns with heritable conditions that require early detection, according to GAO. Examining data from 38 states from 2012 to 2015 provided by the Newborn Screening Technical assistance and Evaluation Program (NewSTEPS), GAO found that states generally failed to meet the HHS advisory committee's suggested timeframe goal for at least 95% of specimens, which the committee recommended be achieved by 2017. The GAO report included a breakdown of the HHS committee's timeframe goals and barriers to the process identified by the reporting states, for each of the three stages of newborn screening. According to the HHS advisory committee, the first stage, which involves a healthcare provider collecting blood from the newborn on a card, should be accomplished within 48 hours of birth. GAO found that barriers to stage 1 include inconsistent nursing protocols, out-of-hospital births, and staff turnover. During stage 2, the specimen should be sent to the laboratory for testing within 24 hours of collection; barriers to this stage include facilities sending specimen to the laboratory in batches, insufficient laboratory hours, and lack of courier service. For stage 3, the committee states that the results should be reported to the newborn's provider within seven days of birth. Barriers to stage 3 include insufficient laboratory hours, slow reporting methods, and poor specimen quality.

HRC Recommends: Hospital administrators should review newborn blood-screening data with relevant staff, including risk management and patient safety. Even if the state has no regulatory requirement for prompt screening, the hospital should institute and enforce a policy supporting timely screening and regularly review data after this policy's implementation to track any changes in test-result turnaround.