A review of electronic medical records and safe transfusion practice for guideline development.

Background And Objectives: Electronic medical records (EMRs) are often composed of multiple interlinking systems, each serving a particular task, including transfusion ordering and administration. Transfusion may not be prioritized when developing or implementing electronic platforms. Uniform guidelines may assist information technology (IT) developers, institutions and healthcare workforces to progress with shared goals.

Quality audit of the guidelines for the use of RhD immunoglobulin in obstetrics: Are we getting it right?

Background: Administration of RhD immunoglobulin (Ig) is important for RhD negative women throughout pregnancy and postnatally to prevent alloimmunisation and haemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn in subsequent pregnancies.

Aims: The aim of this audit was to understand compliance with the Australian guidelines on RhD Ig prophylaxis in pregnancy.

Materials And Methods: This was a retrospective audit of RhD negative pregnant women in Victoria, Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania at maternity services of level 2 or higher care, between July 2017 and June 2018.

Misinterpretation of blood group and antibody screen leading to serious errors in RhD immunoglobulin administration: A report on first two years of data from Serious Transfusion Incident Reporting program.

The Serious Transfusion Incident Reporting program (STIR) commenced haemovigilance in relation to RhD immunoglobulin (Ig) administration in 2015. During two years of reporting, 21 reports relating to RhD Ig administration were received. Thirty-three percent (7/21) were related to omission of RhD Ig, putting women at risk of RhD alloimmunisation and adverse consequences in future pregnancies.

The evolving role of the transfusion practitioner.

Much of the recent work in transfusion practice has shifted to focus on the patient, after efforts over previous decades to ensure the quality and safety of blood products. After the commencement of hemovigilance and transfusion practice improvement programs, the introduction of transfusion practitioners (TP) into health care services and blood centers has continued to increase worldwide. Since this relatively new role was introduced, much work of the TP has focused on patient and staff education, adverse events, transfusion governance, and monitoring of transfusion practices within organizations.

Hospital blood bank information systems accurately reflect patient transfusion: results of a validation study.

Background: Hospital transfusion laboratories collect information regarding blood transfusion and some registries gather clinical outcomes data without transfusion information, providing an opportunity to integrate these two sources to explore effects of transfusion on clinical outcomes. However, the use of laboratory information system (LIS) data for this purpose has not been validated previously.

Study Design And Methods: Validation of LIS data against individual patient records was undertaken at two major centers.