A method for inversion counting or phlebotomist monitoring can include identifying, by processing circuitry, whether a blood collection tube is present in image data from a camera situated to capture images of a phlebotomist collecting a sample, in response to identifying the blood collection tube is present in the field of view of the camera based on the image data, identifying whether the blood collection tube includes blood therein, after identifying the blood is present in the blood collection tube, counting, based on the image data, a number of inversions performed on the blood collection tube, and in response to determining the number of inversions performed is less than a required number of inversions, issuing an alert indicating that insufficient inversions were performed.