Final answer:
A medical assistant should advise patients collecting stool specimens for occult blood testing to discuss with their physician about temporarily discontinuing medications such as aspirin, NSAIDs, blood thinners, and iron supplements to avoid false positives and ensure test accuracy.
Step-by-step explanation:
When instructing a patient on collecting stool specimens for occult blood testing, it's crucial to discuss the impact of medications, as some can interfere with the results. Medications such as aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and blood thinners may cause false positives due to their blood-thinning effects. Furthermore, iron supplements can also affect the test by artificially increasing the presence of blood in the stool.
The medical assistant should advise the patient to discuss with their physician which medications should be temporarily discontinued before the test. This precaution helps ensure the accuracy of the fecal occult blood test (FOBT), which is a noninvasive procedure to check for blood in the stool that may be an early sign of colorectal cancer or other digestive system conditions.