Can a registered nurse perform venipuncture to obtain blood samples for laboratory tests in the home setting?

The nursing laws and rules allow the competent and appropriately trained registered nurse to perform venipuncture to obtain blood samples for laboratory testing in any setting. These procedures require a prescription from an authorized health care practitioner. The nurse must follow Federal and State blood-borne pathogen and Scope of Practice Decision Tree to determine if these activities are within the nurse’s regulatory and individual scope of practice.