Appropriate Red Blood Cell Transfusion Utilization Among Hospitalized Medical Patients

AbstractPurpose of ReviewBlood transfusion is one of the most common procedures performed in hospitalized patients and while in some instances it can save lives, it is not a benign procedure. Blood transfusions are associated with increasing cost, a limited supply, a multitude of complications and threaten patient safety and quality of care.Recent FindingsTo optimize blood utilization, evidence-based transfusion guidelines were developed in 2012 and it is imperative for physicians to understand and implement these guidelines as significant inconsistency between physician transfusion practices still exists today. The costs associated with inappropriate blood transfusion can range anywhere from thousands to millions of dollars per hospital in addition to increasing hospital length of stay. Many opportunities exist to improve patient blood utilization in the stable medical population, most important of which is physician education.SummaryHospitalists and emergency medicine physicians have the unique role of making the biggest impact on reducing inappropriate blood transfusions on the medical patient population. Proper blood utilization can lead to significant cost savings for hospitals, improved safety and quality of patient care, and decreased length of hospital stay.
Source: Current Emergency and Hospital Medicine Reports - Category: Emergency Medicine Source Type: research