Optimizing electronic blood ordering and supporting administration workflows to improve blood utilization in the pediatric hospital setting

Authors

Michelle Stoffel, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Michael G. Leu, Department of Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Dwight Barry, Clinical Analytics, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Jennifer Hrachovec, Clinical Effectiveness, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Nabiha H. Saifee, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Darren S. Migita, Clinical Effectiveness, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Nate Deam, Clinical Analytics, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Carlos E. Villavicencio, Department of Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
M Pauline O'Hare, Clinical Effectiveness, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Amy Pagliarulo, Department of Laboratories, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Meghan Delaney, Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

12-1-2023

Journal

Transfusion

Volume

63

Issue

12

DOI

10.1111/trf.17587

Keywords

blood utilization; clinical decision support; electronic ordering; wastage

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Red blood cell wastage occurs when blood is discarded rather than transfused, and ineffective ordering results in unnecessary crossmatch procedures. We describe how a multimodal approach to redesigning electronic ordering tools improved blood utilization in a pediatric inpatient setting and how using innovative application of time series data analysis provides insights into intervention effectiveness, which can guide future process improvement cycles. METHODS: A multidisciplinary team used best practices and Toyota Production System methodology to redesign electronic blood ordering and improve administration processes. We analyzed crossmatch to transfusion ratio and red blood cell wastage time series data extracted from our laboratory information system and electronic health record. We used changepoint analysis to identify statistically discernible breaks in each time series, compatible with known interventions. We performed causal impact analysis on red blood cell wastage time series data to estimate blood wastage avoided due to the interventions. RESULTS: Changepoint analysis estimated an 11% decrease in crossmatch to transfusion ratio and a 77% decrease in red blood cell monthly wastage rate during the intervention period. Causal impact analysis estimated a 61% reduction in expected wastage compared to the scenario if the interventions had not occurred. DISCUSSION: Our results show that electronic health record design is an important factor in reducing waste and preventing unnecessary crossmatching, and that time series analysis can be a useful tool for evaluating the long-term impact of each stage of intervention in a longitudinal process redesign effort for the purpose of effectively targeting future improvement efforts.

APA Citation

Stoffel, Michelle; Leu, Michael G.; Barry, Dwight; Hrachovec, Jennifer; Saifee, Nabiha H.; Migita, Darren S.; Deam, Nate; Villavicencio, Carlos E.; O'Hare, M Pauline; Pagliarulo, Amy; and Delaney, Meghan, "Optimizing electronic blood ordering and supporting administration workflows to improve blood utilization in the pediatric hospital setting" (2023). GW Authored Works. Paper 4053.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/4053

Department

Pathology