Using Blood Wisely: lessons learnt in establishing a national implementation programme to reduce inappropriate red blood cell transfusion.

Background: Up to 50% of blood is transfused inappropriately despite best evidence. In 2020, Choosing Wisely Canada launched a major national programme, 'Using Blood Wisely', the aim was to engage hospitals to audit their red blood cell transfusion use against national benchmarks and participate in a programme to decrease inappropriate use.

Study Design: Using Blood Wisely is a quality improvement programme including national benchmarks, an audit tool, recommended evidence-based effective interventions and a designation to reward success.